The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has dismissed claims by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that it did not request findings conducted with the FBI regarding an alleged money laundering case involving the former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah. 

According to EOCO, upon receiving the referral from the OSP on January 25, 2024, it promptly requested a copy of the OSP's findings on February 1, 2024, to aid its investigations.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, May 7, EOCO indicated that its letter dated February 1, 2024, was received at the Front Desk of the OSP by a Field Desk Officer 11, Solomon Tetteh, who duly signed for the letter on February 2, 2024. 

• Read also: OSP’s request for money laundering probe against Cecilia Dapaah baseless – AG advises EOCO

“The Deputy Executive-Director of EOCO, Bashiru Dapilah, followed up with the OSP and discussed with Mr. Emmanuel Basintale, the Director of Investigations of the OSP, the possibility of expediting the release of the report. 

“This discussion was done in the presence of the Deputy Special Prosecutor Ms Cynthia Lamptey. Mr. Basintale assured that as soon as he received clearance from the SP, the report would be released to EOCO to assist in investigations. To date, EOCO has not received any information from the OSP,” part of the statement said. 

This comes after the Director of the Strategy, Research, and Communication Division at the OSP, refuted assertions made by the Attorney-General that the office failed to provide details of the corruption investigation conducted with the FBI in the Madam Dapaah case to EOCO.

• Read also: Cecilia Dapaah’s case: EOCO hasn’t requested FBI report – Office of the Special Prosecutor

According to Sammy Darko, contrary to the A-G’s claims, EOCO did not ask for the FBI's corruption investigations report.

“At no point in time did EOCO request a copy of the FBI report. You notice that in that paragraph that talks about the investigative report, EOCO never said that they requested a report. They rather said that they had not seen the FBI report. So we want to make it very clear,” Mr Darko said.

EOCO, however, acknowledged a press release issued by the OSP dated the same day that the OSP referred the investigations to its outfit on January 25, 2024 which it said that no direct and immediate evidence of corruption was found in the seized funds and frozen bank accounts linked to Madam Dapaah and her associates.

EOCO further noted that the OSP had in its letter referred the docket to its outfit stating that the investigation became transboundary with the involvement of the FBI of the United States in respect of parts of the cash sums that were alleged to have been transported into the jurisdiction from the United States. 

On the back of this, EOCO clarified that the OSP’s statement made it necessary for its outfit to seek the advice of the Attorney-General on the matter, adding that it was difficult to ascertain the offence on which to posit an allegation of money laundering. 

“Following the review of the docket presented by the OSP and the advice of the Attorney-General, EOCO returned the original docket received from the OSP back to the OSP on 3rd May 2024. 

“EOCO hereby assures the general public of its preparedness to uphold the highest investigative standards and to do right to all persons irrespective of political, gender, race, ethnic, social or economic status,” it said.