Al Jazeera Reacts To Akufo-Addo Threat Over Incriminating Documentary
International news agency Al Jazeera has reacted following President Akufo-Addo’s demand for withdrawal, retraction and apology over its gold smuggling and money laundering documentary.
President Akufo-Addo had written to the news agency last week over allegations levelled against him in the “Gold Mafia” documentary, calling them malicious, defamatory and calculated attempts to soil his reputation.
In an email response to a journalist with TV3, Al Jazeera confirmed receipt and indicated no sign of granting the demands of the President.
The news agency indicated that it had responded to the letter from the President of the Republic of Ghana correcting parts of its contents and clarifying various points.
“Prior to the publication of Gold Mafia, we wrote to the President outlining the claims by Allistair Matthias. The President’s response appears near the end of the documentary,” the response on May 3 noted.
Background
Parts of the documentary titled “Gold Mafia” featured Alistair Mathias, a gold trader and a financial architect- who builds a money laundering scheme for African leaders according to Aljazeera- bragging of his alliance with African leaders including President Akufo-Addo.
The documentary also alleged that President Akufo-Addo personally and unlawfully benefitted from the $100 million state infrastructure contract awarded to Matthias.
According to the Presidency, those parts shouldn’t have been included in the documentary since they were denied by Allistair himself and the President later when they were approached by the news agency ahead of the publication.
The Media Network, was, therefore, given up to seven days to withdraw the documentary, render an unqualified apology to the President and retract the allegations.
