Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called for the head of the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah.
According to him, she has botched the investigation of former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah.
Mr Kpebu noted that EOCO was not present to receive the money that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had returned to Dapaah, a potential indication of negligence or improper handling of the case.
He said the OSP had announced his intention to return the money and transfer the file to EOCO, making EOCO’s absence at the time of the money’s presentation to Cecilia Dapaah suspicious.
This follows the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice advising EOCO against initiating money laundering investigations into the case of the former Minister.
Upon a request for advice by EOCO on the matter, the AG’s office, in a letter dated April 25, 2024, stated that the OSP did not submit the report on its collaborative investigation with the FBI to EOCO.
Additionally, the AG’s office noted that the OSP had not responded to EOCO’s request for its findings when it investigated Madam Dapaah.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the docket presented to EOCO only contains the OSP’s letter transmitting the docket, the diary of action, statements taken during the investigation, and letters written by the OSP to other institutions like the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and banks for inquiries.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News, he noted that the oversight undermines the credibility of the investigation and raises questions about EOCO’s competence and dedication to pursuing the case.
“EOCO’s Maame Tiwaa Addo Danquah should be on her way out of that office…she should be out and let us not play with it. This thing is too elementary for us to tolerate this. Kissi Agyebeng came out publicly to say ‘I am handing over this file, I am handing over the cash.’
“So EOCO should have been present to collect that money. There can be no excuses…there can be no “ifs” and “buts” about it that is why we are calling on Maame Tiwaa to resign”, he said.
On his part, anti-corruption crusader Vitus Azeem also lamented the Office of the Attorney General’s advice to EOCO.
According to him, the matter did not need to go to the Attorney General and EOCO could have put aside the referral of the office of the Special Prosecutor.
Mr Azeem criticised the Special Prosecutor for allegedly failing to share all relevant information with EOCO, which the Attorney General cited as the reason for dismissing any further investigation as baseless and unnecessary.
“If you were passing the case to EOCO, you need EOCO to work on what you have already done. Then you needed to give EOCO all the information that you have.
“If you fail to do that there is suspicion that either you did a poor job or you did not want EOCO to use the information and evidence that you found to continue with the action. These are some of the things that happen when investigating high-profile cases.
Source: myjoyonline.com
