The opposition National Democratic Congress, has called on the Special Prosecutor to launch full-scale investigations into allegations of money laundering and illicit gold trade by elements in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, as contained in a recent Al Jazeera documentary.
The party has also demanded similar investigations into a leaked report by erstwhile Environment Minister and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters on April 25, National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, made references to a recent documentary by international news network, Al Jazeera into the activities of a gold smuggling syndicate operating in various African countries, including Ghana.
The NDC alleged that there existed “a relationship between the deadly racket and the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other high-ranking officials of the ruling NPP government”. The party referenced one Alistair Mathias who is named in the documentary as having had some dealings with people in the current government, including the award and sale of government contracts in return for “commissions” otherwise known as kickbacks.
The said Alistair Mathias, the party alleged, undertakes to launder money realized from the sale of such government contracts, including supply and procurement contracts, by lodging these proceeds in foreign banks on behalf of some alleged political collaborators in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
The one-hour, thirteen-minutes documentary which was aired by Al Jazeera revealed serious concerns over money laundering and illicit gold trade in Africa, involving a complex network whose operations extend to Ghana, with estimates that about $40 million worth of gold gets smuggled out of the shores of Ghana by the syndicate every month.
The NDC has thus called on both the Special Prosecutor and Parliament to probe into these allegations of money laundering.
The party stated that illegal mining activities allegedly being undertaken by persons close to power are the main source of gold being smuggled out of the country. Increasing spate of illegal mining activities in the country, the NDC contends, provides clear evidence of the interlinked activities of ‘galamsey’, illicit gold trade and money laundering.
The party therefore called on the Special Prosecutor and Parliament to launch a public probe into a leaked report authored by former Environment Minister and Chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, and bring to book all culprits who have been named in these two reports.
Source: ghanaweb.com
