Cecilia Dapaah: FBI commences investigation into her US assets and financial transactions
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States have launched concurrent inquiries into the activities of Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and her associates.
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The investigations will focus on examining their assets and financial transactions within the United States. The goal of the collaboration is to determine the lawfulness of Ms. Dapaah and her associates' wealth, both in the context of their funds transitioning from Ghana to the United States and vice versa.
This was disclosed in a tweet by the Office of Special Prosecutor.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)@USEmbassyGhana have initiated concurrent inquiries into the activities of Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and her associates. These…
— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) October 11, 2023
The OSP is a Ghanaian anti-corruption agency that was established in 2017. The agency is responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of corruption involving public officials and other high-profile individuals.
The FBI is the United States' domestic intelligence and security service. The agency is also responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes involving financial fraud, bribery, and other forms of corruption.
The launch of the concurrent inquiries into Ms. Dapaah and her associates is a significant development in the OSP's probe of Ms. Dapaah.
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Background
It will be recalled that the OSP commenced an investigation on Ms Dapaah for corruption and corruption-related offences following the revelation that she was keeping more than $1 million in her house.
That was after police prosecutors had arraigned two househelps working for Ms Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, at an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing money and items worth millions of Ghana cedis from the couple's residence at Abelenkpe in Accra.
Subsequently, the OSP searched the residence of the former minister and found $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million.
The Special Prosecutor seized the cash and froze the former minister’s cedi and dollar bank accounts, pending further investigations.
The OSP then applied to the High Court to continue the seizure and freezing of the bank accounts of the former minister.
Officials of the OSP argued that the cash was seized on the grounds that they were suspected to be tainted property, hence the need to prevent the former minister’s bank accounts from concealment or loss.
However, the application was dismissed and the OSP was ordered to return the confiscated assets of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources within seven days.
Five days after that ruling, the OSP once again directed the freezing and seizure of Ms. Dapaah’s bank accounts and cash found at her residence.
