The lawyers for former minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, have blamed the media frenzy and misrepresentation of facts for the Office of the Special Prosecutor's (OSP) application to affirm a freeze and seizure of her properties, citinewsroom.com reports.
During a court hearing on Thursday, August 17, 2023, the lawyers for Cecilia Dapaah argued on whether the orders for seizure and freezing of properties should be ratified as the investigation remains ongoing.
According to citinewsroom.com, Dr. Isidore Tuffour who represents the special prosecutor indicated that the directive is in alignment with the office of the special prosecutor ACT (959) to bar Cecilia Dapaah from hiding her properties that are believed to be marred with corruption.
The order is geared towards seizing a whopping $590,000 and GH¢2,730,000 of funds that were found following the search of three houses associated with her.
Meanwhile, Victoria Barth who is leading the team of lawyers representing the former Sanitation and Water Resources Minister argued that the application seeking to freeze her client’s properties breaches the office of the special prosecutor ACT.
She elaborated that the office of the Special Prosecutor ACT 959 in section 32(2) allows the office to bring the application for ratification within seven days after the seizure but the application was submitted after the deadline had passed.
The lead lawyer for Cecilia Dapaah said the fact that a substantial amount of money was found in her client’s houses is not enough justification to prove that the source of the monies is dubious or tainted, hence the application to freeze the properties is baseless.
Dr. Tuffour, however, argued that ACT 959 does not require them to show grounds for suspicion that the accounts are tainted before the application to freeze the property can be confirmed.
Cecilia Dapaah’s Prudential Bank and Societe General accounts will be frozen if the special prosecutor’s application is affirmed by the court.
According to citinewsroom.com, the final ruling on the matter is scheduled to be delivered on August 31, 2023, after both sides presented their cases.
BS/DAG
Meanwhile, watch the latest #SayItLoud video on GhanaWeb TV with Etsey Atisu below:
You can also watch the latest episode of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV, as we explore the need for organ donations, below:
Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah