Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, is being probed by the New Patriotic Party to establish the veracity of an extortion allegation against him.

The MP, who is a member of the party’s communications team, has been accused of extorting money from the Agricultural Development Bank to allegedly abandon a case he is pursuing in court against the bank’s Initial Public Offering.

The police CID is investigating the outspoken lawyer after receiving a petition from three individuals believed to be supporters of the National Democratic Congress.

The petition was based on a leaked tape on which a voice resembling that of the MP is heard discussing taking from ADB and playing legal gymnastics to get the case thrown out.

The CID has been quiet about its investigations, but Communications Director of the NPP, Nana Akomea, said Mr Afenyo-Markin has denied the allegation.

He told Samson Lardy Anyenini on Joy FM/Multi TV’s news analysis show Newsfile Saturday that he himself has “questioned him closely about this matter”.

He said the NPP, as a party, constituted a team to delve further into the case but Afenyo-Markin “denies that the tape is genuine”.

According to Nana Akomea, the accused also maintained that the “voices have been doctored…he has not received any money” with reference to claims that he has gone to South Africa and has a bank account there.

“He said the thing has been concocted…not his voice, so it leads us to a dead end,” he said.

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, whilst welcoming the police investigation into the matter, wants them to go beyond just the audio; otherwise the investigations “may end up in a cul-de-sac”.

He said Afenyo-Markin has personally told him that the tape has been doctored.

Kweku Baako is also interested in knowing whether any management member of ADB actually paid money to Mr Afenyo-Markin.

Dr Jemimah Nunoo of the GIMPA Business School backed investigations into the alleged extortion devoid of politics.  She also employed the police to get all the necessary technical know-how to get to the bottom of the case.

 A member of the NDC legal team, Abraham Amaliba, suggested that Alexander Afenyo-Markin could be charged with professional misconduct by the General Legal Council and subsequently debarred if it is established that he took money to abandon a case.