The High Court in Accra has ordered Solomon Asamoah and Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, former Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman, respectively, of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, to open their defence in a case in which they are accused of conspiring to cause financial loss of $2 million meant for the Accra SkyTrain project, which was never built.
Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay gave the directive after dismissing a submission of no case filed on behalf of the two accused persons, meaning they must now present their defence to enable the court to determine their guilt or innocence.
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The charges
The prosecution's case is premised on the claim that the SkyTrain project did not receive approval from the GIIF board, the body responsible for the fund's actions, omissions, and liabilities.
Asamoah and Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi are facing six counts in all. Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime, namely wilfully causing financial loss to the Republic. Asamoah alone faces a separate charge of wilfully causing financial loss to the Republic, while Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi alone faces the same charge.
The two are further charged with conspiracy to commit crime, namely intentional dissipation of public funds, with each again facing an individual charge of intentional dissipation of public funds, accounting for counts five and six on the charge sheet filed by the Attorney-General.
They have pleaded not guilty to all six counts.
The prosecution's case
The prosecution, led by the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, called three witnesses to support its case.
A former GIIF board member, Yaw Odame-Darkwa, told the court the board did not approve the transaction. He said a document in which Asamoah informed the board that "following the approval by the board, the sum of $2 million be invested in the SkyTrain project with GIIF as the anchor investor in return for a 10 per cent stake" was merely an update to the board and not an approval.
A former Board Secretary of the fund, Kofi Boakye, also told the court the board did not approve the SkyTrain project. A staff officer of the National Intelligence Bureau, Francis Aboagye, who led investigations into the matter, corroborated the testimonies of the first two witnesses.
The defence's submission
Counsel for the accused persons, Victoria Barth and Yaw Acheampong Boafo, had prayed the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against their clients.
Ms Barth, for Asamoah, argued that the $2 million was an equity investment for a 10 per cent stake in the project's Special Purpose Vehicle and not dissipated funds, and that board minutes dated October 24, 2018, documented an approval that was never contemporaneously challenged.
She contended that the prosecution's witnesses gave inconsistent testimony on what constituted board approval, that the investigator's conclusions were based on inference rather than evidence, and that the sequence of the transaction required the investment to precede further due diligence.
On the question of financial loss, she argued that the funds were converted into an existing, recoverable asset in the form of shares, meaning there was no net, irretrievable depletion of state resources, and that any delay in the project resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, an intervening cause that severed any link to her client's conduct.
Mr Boafo, for Ameyaw-Akumfi, similarly argued that the prosecution had failed to charge and prosecute his client under the relevant law properly, and that cross-examination had so discredited the state's evidence that no reasonable tribunal could safely convict on it.
The court, however, dismissed the submissions and ordered the accused persons to open their defence.
