Nii Kotei Dzani was stripped ‘virtually naked’ when we arrested him – EOCO boss reveals
The Economic and Organised Crimes Office, (EOCO) has explained that assertions by Groupe Ideal that their Chief Executive, Nii Kotei Dzani who is also a member of the Council of State was not arrested and released on bail in November 2019 in connection with ongoing investigations to find out the reasons that led to the revocation of the license and collapse of Ideal Finance was not true.
According to the Executive Director of EOCO, Mr Frank Adu Poku, “he [Dzani] can decide to say it [deny the arrest] but we [EOCO] are saying that he was arrested, the records are there, there was a bail condition that was given, so if you are claiming that you were [not arrested, the records are there], he was taken to the police station [Ministries], he was virtually naked, and was just about being put into the cells.”
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Mr Adu Poku in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM monitored by Graphic Online on Wednesday evening [February 19, 2020] said Nii Kotei Dzani went through the process where when suspects are arrested, their clothes are taken off, stripped virtually naked and asked to wear only boxer shorts and then thrown into cells.
Asked for a clarification on the familiar processes by the police where when suspects are arrested, they usually strip them except their boxer shorts, Mr Adu Poku said: “I was not there, but I believe whether boxer shorts or pants or whatever, [he was going to be thrown into the cells], of course, yes."
He said an intervention by his [Kotei Dzani's] lawyers stopped the process of “throwing him” into the cell.
“We decided to give him the benefit of the doubt so that the following morning, he will come and then legalise whatever”.
He insisted the records are at the Ministries Police Station so anybody doubting it can go and check.
Related story: 'Ignore and treat as fake news reports of arrest of Nii Kotei Dzani' - Groupe Ideal
When Nii Kotei Dzani was arrested in November 2019, Groupe Ideal in a statement signed and issued by Ekow Blankson, Director Corporate Communications and Strategy said media reports that suggested he [Dzani] had been arrested and released on bail as a result of misappropriation of some funds in his care was "false."
"For the record, this report is categorically false. What happened and continues to happen is as [sic] ongoing investigations to the reasons that led to the revocation of our licenses, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), is inviting directors and management of the various companies including Dzani in his capacity as a Director of Ideal Finance." Click here to read a copy of Groupe Ideal's statement on the arrest
Is it political victimisation?
When Mr Adu Poku was asked if EOCO decided to go after Nii Kotei Dsani because he was an NDC member, he said: “I don’t know that he is NDC, this is the first time that I’m hearing that he is NDC. I know that he is a Council of State member, I know that he was the Director and Founder of Ideal Finance and we are not going after political parties or members of any political parties."
“We are going after directors who have misused public money, monies belonging to members of the public, so if he was a member of any political party, that was not what we were doing," he explained.
Court case
He said Nii Kotei Dzani was to come back to EOCO and rectify his bail conditions only for him to go ahead to sue EOCO arguing that, “we don’t have the power to do what we are doing and that he was being harassed.”
He said EOCO is a law-abiding institution and so they went to court alright and his [Dzani’s] application was thrown out and “my understanding is that he has filed an appeal that he is challenging the judgement which we are ready to go and speak to it."
He said EOCO has two major objects, to investigate organised crimes and trace proceeds of organised crimes.
“As we speak now we have frozen most of his [bank] accounts legally, we went to court and the accounts have been frozen. We are trying to get information about other accounts which may not have come to our notice.”
Read also: EOCO gets green light to investigate Ideal Group boss, Nii Kotei Dzani
"As we speak now, we have also gotten judgement to preserve most of his assets – vehicles and properties at Ada, at Nii Sai Street in East Legon in Accra, a speed boat."
He said Nii Kotei Dzani was not collaborating with the investigations.
