An Accra High Court has delivered judgement in a matter in which the Auditor General sought to surcharge the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, and five others over a $1 million deal.
According to Starr FM, the High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Asare Botwe has ruled that Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, breached the rules of natural justice in his handling of the audit process for the $1 million Kroll and Associates deal.
By this judgement, the Senior Minister and the five others are no longer required to refund the $1 million.
Mr Domelevo had issued the surcharged against Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Michael Ayensu, Abraham Kofi Tawiah, Patrick Nomo, and Eva Asselba Mends, all officials of the Ministry of Finance, and a UK firm, Kroll and Associates.
Background
Acting on behalf of the government, the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, signed a deal with Kroll and Associates for a value-for-money audit of some projects, identify wrongdoers and recover the assets of the said wrongdoers.
But after an audit of that deal subsequently, the Auditor-General concluded that Kroll and Associates had been paid $1 million for no work done.
Mr Domelevo then surcharged the Senior Minister, the four officials of the Ministry of Finance and Kroll and Associates GH¢5,510,353.73.
Subsequently, Mr Osafo-Maafo and the officials of the Ministry of Finance in 2019 dragged the Auditor General to the High Court and prayed the court to set the surcharge aside.
They took the view that the Auditor-General came to a wrong conclusion when he said there was no work done by Kroll and Associates.
After months, the court has delivered its judgement on the matter.
Mr Osafo-Maafo (R) and Daniel Domelevo