The Office of the Special Prosecutor has touted the achievements of Kissi Agyebeng since their assumption in office in August 2021.
In a statement in response to recent criticisms against the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng following his press conference by some sections of the public including the Ghana Bar Association, the Office highlighted some key achievements of Mr Kissi Agyebeng,
According to the statement, Mr Kissi Agyebeng’s sterling achievements range from investigations, prosecution, asset recovery, and management to preventing corruption in the country.
Explaining the achievements of Mr Kissi Agyebeng, the statement indicated that the Office of the Special Prosecutor under Mr Kissi Agyebeng has disrupted a syndicate involved in the production of a substantial amount of counterfeited foreign currency and made seizures in two warehouses in Accra and Tema where an amount of $40 million was discovered in concealed steel trunks.
The statement further revealed that during the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s inquiry into a contract granted for a poverty alleviation project in regions up north to a private contractor, the Office’s prompt action prevented the nation from disbursing over GH₵5 million beyond the contracted amount.
According to the statement, the Special Prosecutor halted the Controller and Accountant General from making the payment until the investigations were completed and all individuals implicated were undergoing trial in a court in Tamale.
Suspension of TOR-Torentco Deal
Speaking on the suspension of the Tema Oil Refinery and Torentco deal, the statement noted that Mr Kissi Agyebeng ensured the suspension of the $22 million lease agreement between the Tema Oil Refinery and Tema Energy and Processing Limited for corruption risk investigations.
The statement further explained that the risk assessment focuses on the potential danger posed to the assets of TOR by the apparent decision of the Management to allow Torrentco/TEPL to obtain access to the critical infrastructure of the state-owned company before, as the Board of Directors have readily acknowledged, due diligence on the transaction was complete.
“If the decision was by any means induced or influenced by corruption or corruption-related activity, and it is established that such inducement led to an unqualified company accessing or operating the assets in question, more than $450 million of national assets could have been endangered”.
Office of the Special Prosecutor
In addition, the statement indicated that Parliament removed the clauses that allowed the arbitrary use of such techniques following an investigation by the Offce of the Special Prosecutor into the abuse of Customs Advance judgments and benchmark values.
The statement emphasized that such measure has successfully closed a sizable loophole that allowed for the underpayment of duties and taxes on imported goods in the past, protecting the country from possible revenue losses in the millions of cedis and preventing dishonest officers from working with importers to manipulate taxes and extract personal benefits at the expense of the national coffers.
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