A highly-placed official (identity withheld) at the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has categorically denied media reports attributed to a leading member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr. Bright Akwetey to the effect that the Attorney-General has instructed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to either reopen its investigations on the State Enterprises Commission (SEC) and Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, the flagbearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) for Election 2008 or submit a ‘Report/Docket’ on the issue.

Accra-based Citi FM, last week reported that Mr. Bright Akwetey had told the station that he (Akwetey) had information that the Attorney-General had ordered the reopening of the SFO case on SEC and Kwesi Nduom. A similar story was carried by some sections of the print media including the NETWORK HERALD.

“THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL HAS NOT, REPEAT, NOT, ORDERED THE REOPENING OF THAT CASE. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL DOES NOT HAVE THE HABIT OF INSTRUCTING THE SFO ON WHEN AND HOW TO CONDUCT ITS OPERATIONS. THE SFO HAS THE STATUTORY MANDATE TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS AS REQUIRED BY ITS LEGAL REMIT AFTER WHICH IT (SFO) IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A DOCKET TO THIS OFFICE (AG’S DEPARTMENT) FOR OUR STUDY AND ADVICE, AND IF POSSIBLE OR NECESSARY, REQUEST A FIAT FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION”, clarified the top AG Department official.

He continued: “IN THE CASE OF THE ‘SEC AND NDUOM INVESTIGATIONS’, THE SFO, WE ARE TOLD, CONDUCTED SOME KIND OF INVESTIGATIONS IN NOVEMBER 1995 WHICH ENDED IN JUNE 1996 BUT IT (SFO) NEVER SUBMITTED ANY DOCKET ON ITS INVESTIGATIONS TO THIS OFFICE. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL CANNOT CONTEMPLATE ANY ACTION WITHOUT THE SUBMISSION OF A DOCKET; THAT IS A PRECONDITION FOR ANY MEANINGFUL ACTION BY THIS OFFICE. UNTIL THAT IS DONE, IT WILL NOT ONLY BE PRE-MATURE BUT ALSO PREPOSTEROUS FOR ANYONE TO EITHER SAY THE AG, INTENDS TO ACT ON A SO-CALLED ‘SFO REPORT’ OR HAS DIRECTED THE SFO TO REOPEN ANY MATTER”.

The top official advised all those who appear to be interested in the matter under reference, to direct their enquiries to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and leave out the Attorney-General’s office, because the matter is yet to reach the latter’s doorsteps.

“With the exception of drug-related cases in which the Attorney-General’s office deliberately seeks IRS and/or SFO interventions or collaboration relative to tax and other related financial dealings (money-laundering, etc.), we have a policy not to instruct, order or direct the SFO on what to do, how to do and when to do its work. This policy is consistent with the mandate of the SFO as stipulated by the ACT (466) covering it”, intimated the AG Department official.

Asked to react to media reports about an enquiry on the ‘Nduom/SEC/SFO matter’ directed at the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice by a member of the CPP by name Mr. KWAME ASA-OFORI, the AG Department Official conceded that indeed such an enquiry had been made and was received by the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice on January 22, 2008, same date of the letter.

Asked what had been the reaction of the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice to the CPP member’s enquiry, the top AG Department official disclosed that Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry was redirected to the SFO for action because the latter should have been the recipient or appropriate authority to deal with it in the first place.
He said in principle, Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry was ‘misdirected’, that is, delivered to the ‘wrong destination’ (the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice) and that it was out of sheer courtesy that the office of Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice redirected the enquiry to the appropriate quarters (Serous Fraud Office – SFO).

“We could have advised Mr. Asa-Ofori to withdraw his letter of enquiry to us, and redirect it himself to the SFO but opted to relay it to the SFO on his behalf. The public must be informed that until the AG’s Department receives a docket from the SFO on its investigations, it (AG’s Department) cannot comment on the subject-matter of the investigations”, emphasised the to AG Department official.

Meanwhile, our roving scouts have been able to intercept a copy of Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry and another letter showing the action taken on it by the Chief Director of the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice. We have decided to publish the two letters for the perusal of our readers on pages three (3) and four(4).

Mr. Asa-Ofori’s January 22, 2008 letter of enquiry titled: “REQUEST FOR ACTION ON SFO REPORT ON PAPA KWESI NDUOM”, was apparently a follow-up action; a reminder to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of his “request on the above subject which I presented personally at your office on 31st December, 2007”.

“PLEASE BE REMINDED THAT I AM WAITING FOR YOU TO ACT ON THE MATTER BECAUSE IT IS OF PUBLIC INTEREST, AND CLARIFICATION ON THIS ISSUE WOULD PUT DOUBTFUL MINDS AT REST AND ALSO PROTECT OUR CPP FLAGBEARER”, Mr. Asa-Ofori had articulated in his follow-up step (January 22, 2008 letter of enquiry).

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice’s action on the letter of enquiry came in the form of a letter, dated February 20, 2008, authored and signed by Mr. S.B. Nyantekyi, Chief Director of the Ministry on behalf of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
Mr. Nyantekyi’s letter was addressed to the Acting Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and simply said “I forward herewith letter dated January 22, 2008 on the above subject matter” (i.e. REQUEST FOR ACTION ON SFO REPORT ON PAPA KWESI NDUOM).

“YOU ARE KINDLY REQUESTED TO RESPOND TO THE LETTER”, Mr. Nyantekyi entreated the Acting Director of the SFO.

Asa-Ofori's case

The letter under reference (Chief Director’s) was copied to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Deputy Attorney-General, Acting Solicitor-General and the author of the (original) letter of enquiry, CPP member, Mr. Kwame Asa-Ofori.

According to the top AG Department official, the SFO is yet to formally act on the Chief Director’s letter which had requested the Acting Director of the SFO to respond to the letter attached, that is, the original letter of enquiry from Mr. Asa-Ofori.

He conceded that it was possible for the Acting Director of the SFO to directly respond to Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry without reference to the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and so could not rule out the possibility of that having already been done, though he thought sheer courtesy and protocol would require that the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice is notified by way of being ‘copied’.

The Crusading GUIDE’s on-going investigations as we went to press last night, indicated that the SFO is yet to formally respond to Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry. SFO sources could not explain why no action had been effected on Mr. Asa-Ofori’s enquiry even though the SFO Boss had been “kindly requested to respond to that letter” by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Justice.

The top AG Department official further intimated that the Chief Director was even ‘verbally queried’ by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Joe Ghartey when it came to his notice that the Chief Director of the Ministry had requested the SFO to respond to Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry.

“The rationale behind the ‘verbal query’ is that Attorney-General felt that the Chief Director should have rather advised the author of the letter, Mr. Asa-Ofori to direct his enquiry to the SFO, the appropriate quarters, for the appropriate answer(s). He (Attorney-General) felt that the Chief Director, as an ADMINISTRATOR, should have first sought the advice of the LEGAL DEPARTMENT of the Ministry on the matter, and that if that had been done, the right procedure would have been applied, hence ‘the verbal query’ by the Attorney-General”, confided the top AG Department official.

He however conceded that the Chief Director’s action did not constitute a ‘FATAL INJURY’ and consequently entreated those who are expressing serious interest in the matter and demanding to know the status of the SFO investigations and the ‘report’ that accompanied it, “TO RE-DIRECT THEIR ‘REQUESTS AND DEMANDS’ TO THE SFO, AND LEAVE THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE OUT OF THE CHAOTIC PUBLIC DISCOURSE”, RAGING ON THE SO-CALLED “NDUOM/SFO/REPORT”.

“WITHIN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE CAN OR WILL DO ABOUT THE SO-CALLED ‘SFO REPORT’. WE WORK ON AND WITH DOCKETS; NOT ‘INTERNAL RECORDS’ OR ‘REPORTS’ OF THE SFO. UNTIL THE SFO GIVES US A DOCKET WE CANNOT PROCEED TO DO ANYTHING ON ITS PURPORTED INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE SEC AND KWESI NDUOM’S CONSULTANCY JOBS WITH IT (SEC). IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT”, concluded he.

Asked why the SFO, in his opinion, had not taken any action on Mr. Asa-Ofori’s letter of enquiry, the top AG Department official quipped: “I AM NOT PREPARED TO SPECULATE. WHY DON’T YOU GO TO THE SFO AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF?”
Stay tuned for further developments…


Credit: Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako (Crusading Guide)