CID interrogates Karbo as he claims no knowledge of Nyantakyi fraud case
A Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Anthony Abayifaa N-yoh Puowele Karbo, on Monday honoured the invitation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to assist with investigations into an alleged fraud case involving the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Speaking through his lawyer, Mr Gary Nimako Marfo, Mr Karbo explained he told the police he has no knowledge of attempts to use the President's name to defraud investors.
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“I must indicate to you that the police were professional, they conducted themselves very well that we also made sure that whatever response that they wanted from us, as far as we know about were given to them,” Mr Nimako Marfo said.
“Don’t forget that we are not suspects in the matter, we have not made any statement to anybody, it is Mr Nyantakyi who is now under investigation,” he added.
Explaining what he made of the invitation, the lawyer said: “I felt that they [police] shouldn’t have even called us at this time, but once we have been called, we were under a duty as citizens of responsible nature to go to the police to respond to whatever was within our knowledge, so we have done so and that is all.”
“The whole thing is that, we have no knowledge at all as to the information on the tape, that is our response,”
But Mr Nimako Marfo indicated that, since the matter was of public interest and of public nature, the police cannot be faulted for extending the invitation which Mr Karbo had a duty as a citizen of responsible nature to honour.
Karbo at CID
Karbo’s visit to the CID headquarters was after the Police Administration had officially sought clearance from the leadership of Parliament to release him, since he is also a Member of Parliament for Lawra in the Upper West Region.
In response to the invitation, Mr Karbo was seen at the CID headquarters at 10.05 a.m. Monday, even though he was expected at 10 a.m.
Mr Karbo, who was sporting a cream caftan, arrived in the company of two men.
Unlike the invitation of Mr Nyantakyi which attracted a number of media personnel, there were only two media persons at the CID Headquarters Monday when the MP got there.
Additionally, Mr Karbo did not have to keep the media waiting for hours, as his interaction with the CID lasted between 30 and 45 minutes.
Caution
Sources at the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service told Graphic Online that Mr Karbo was interrogated by officials of the Financial Forensic Unit of the CID.
His statement was taken and he has since been cautioned, while investigations into the matter continue, the source said.
Mr Karbo is the second person to have been invited by the police as part of investigations following the latest exposé by the ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, of corruption in the Ghana football governing body.
Number 12
It is said Mr Nyantakyi allegedly used the names of the President and the Vice-President to extort money from some supposed investors.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo filed a complaint with the police to investigate the issue after he and some executive members had seen portions of the yet-to-be-made-public documentary.
The undercover documentary, which is dubbed: “Number 12”, is scheduled to premiere in Accra on June 6, 2018.
According to a Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Mr Nyantakyi was seen in the video allegedly using the names of the President and the Vice-President to extort millions of dollars from some supposed investors.
Mr Karbo is said to have been allegedly implicated in the undercover investigations into corruption in sports administration.
Mr Nyantakyi was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on May 24, 2018 on his arrival from an international assignment in Morocco.
After his arrest, he was interrogated and cautioned after his house had been searched by detectives from the CID.
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