Col Damoah And His Former Deputy Sue SP

Former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Col Kwadwo Damoah and his former Deputy, Joseph Adu Kyei have dragged the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng and an official of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Emmanuel Amadu Basintale to the High Court.

They have been sued over a report of their investigation into the alleged commission of corruption and corruption-related offences involving the Labianca Group of Companies and the Customs Division of the GRA.

The report which was released on August 3 this year faulted a member of the Board of Directors of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority who “owns and controls” Labianca Company, Ms Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh for using her position to attract a down mark of benchmark value.

Similarly, the Deputy Commissioner for the Customs Division of the GRA, Mr Joseph Adu Kyei was also faulted by the report for the “wrongful and unsupported” award of a 5%-10% down mark to Labianca.

In their statement of the case, the applicants said Kissi Agyebeng violated Sections 2, 3, 21, 28, 74, 75, 79 of ACT 2017 (Act 959) of the Special Prosecutors Act as well as Regulation 1,3,5, 12, 16 and 18 of Special Prosecutor Regulations 2018.

They argue that the SP acted against the law when he set up a committee to investigate the allegation he is not entitled to probe by law and appointed Amadu Basintale, “an unauthorised” officer, as chair whose decisions and determinations resulted in the “adverse findings” contained in the report.

The applicants want the court to declare the action of the first respondent in constituting the panel for the investigations and the report as outside his mandate; relief applicants of declaration; certiorari and prohibition; and restraining orders against the respondents.

Background
An investigation into an allegation of corruption and corruption-related offences at Labianca Company Limited by the OSP found Ms Asomah-Hinneh used her positions as a Council of State Member and a member of the Board of Directors of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to redeem a down mark of benchmark value for Labianca Company Limited, her company.

The OSP said it found strong evidence that suggests influence peddling in its investigations, in that the 5% – 10% markdown in benchmark value granted to Labianca was “wrongful and unsupported by the requirements of the law.”

It added that Mr Adu Kyei wilfully put aside the law by embarking on his own predilections”.

The report also noted that the OSP retrieved the total amount of money lost to Ms Hinneh since the issuance of the “unlawful” markdown.

It said a total of GHC1,074,627.15 was paid to the Asset Recovery Account of the Office of the Special Prosecutor on March 31, 2022, after the OSP issued an interim directive to Labianca to pay the amount.

The findings, from the inception, were contested by Col Damoah calling it “hollow” although he was not implicated by the report.

He alleges the report only sought to indict him and his deputy.

Earlier, while reacting to the report, Col Damoah said the SP was trying to punish him for resisting the secondment of one of his staff members to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini