A-G chases Woyome to reclaim GH¢47.2m
When you owe the government don’t expect much sleep. That was the body language of valuation officers and security operatives on Tuesday when they stormed the residence of the businessman, Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome, at Kokomlemle in Accra.
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The officers were at the residence to value the businessman’s property as part of efforts to retrieve the GH¢47.2 million debt that he owes the state.
In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered Mr Woyome to repay the GH¢51.2 million judgement debt paid to him by the state because he had no valid contract with the government.
Since then, he has paid GH¢4 million of the amount, with the state on his neck to force him to cough up the rest.
Operation
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that the officials stormed the residence in the wee hours of yesterday, with the express instruction to use any lawful means possible to conduct their operations.
Mr Woyome was said to have challenged the authenticity of the warrant used by the officers to invade his property, which led to a brief stand off.
Peace, however, was said to have prevailed after a while and the officers entered the premises.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, the businessman challenged the method used by the officers, describing it as a violation of his rights
“They are menacing everywhere, trying to force their way to measure the property without recourse to the law,’’ he said.
Apart from the Kokomlemle house, the officials also visited other properties linked to the businessman at Abelenkpe, East Legon and other areas in Accra.
Supreme court orders
A source at the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department disclosed to the Daily Graphic that the officers did not visit the properties with a fake warrant but with an authorisation from the Supreme Court.
According to the source, Tuesday's operation was part of efforts to execute the Supreme Court’s 2014 judgement that ordered the businessman to refund the money.
In all, it said, the valuation and security officers visited six properties linked to Mr Woyome and would continue to visit other properties
“The operation is part of the judgement execution process and so the Supreme Court Registrar has written a letter authorising that the properties be valued. It is all part of the process to make sure that the state recovers the money,’’ it said.
Legal games
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in 2014, Mr Woyome has initiated a series of legal battles against the A-G to either challenge the decision or delay the payment.
He filed for a review of the decision which was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
The A-G responded by initiating a process to have the Supreme Court put an embargo on Woyome’s shares in 11 companies and also for him to be orally examined as to how he intended to repay the money.
Both processes were granted by the Supreme Court.
After many back and forth legal tussles to prevent the oral examination, which were all dismissed by the Supreme Court, the businessman was finally orally examined by the A-G on July 24, 2017.
The oral examination will continue at the Supreme Court on October 2, 2017.
Apart from fighting his cases in the country, Mr Woyome also sought relief from the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Paris, France, and the African Court of Justice based in Arusha, Tanzania.
In August, 2017, the ICC threw out his case on the basis that he failed to properly invoke its jurisdiction.
His last throw of the dice involves the case at the African Court of Justice which is yet to be determined.
