The Accra High Court has granted a one-week adjournment in a significant corruption prosecution to allow completion of a plea bargain opted for by Andy Thomas Owusu, the second accused in the Office of the Special Prosecutor corruption case against Charles Bissue.

During Thursday's hearing, state prosecutors informed Justice Kwame Asante's court that substantive discussions are underway with legal representatives for businessman Andy Thomas Owusu, who faces multiple corruption-related charges alongside former government official Charles Bissue.

Background

The two are standing trial over their alleged involvement in 15 criminal charges filed by the OSP.

The charges were filed at the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra on April 28, alleging that between January and February 2019, Mr Bissue, while serving as Secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), corruptly accepted bribes totalling GH₵35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong, directly and through Owusu, to fast-track the renewal of an expired mining licence for a mining company, ORR Resources Enterprise, without proper documentation.

In return, Bissue allegedly issued fraudulent permits and stickers declaring ORR Resources compliant with mining laws.

It is in relation to the widely publicised 'Galamsey Fraud' investigation, as documented in the 2019 Tiger Eye P.I. report.

Even though Mr Bissue was initially cleared by the previous government, the OSP reopened the case and has proceeded with criminal prosecutions.

The IMCIM, established in 2017 to combat illegal mining (galamsey), was dissolved in 2021 after corruption scandals, including Bissue’s alleged involvement in misappropriating excavators and gold nuggets.

In November 2024, the Human Rights Court dismissed the final in a series of suits filed by Charles Bissue aimed at preventing the Office of the Special Prosecutor from arresting, investigating, or charging him.

Mr Bissue had previously obtained a 10-day ex parte injunction restraining the OSP from arresting him, alleging that the warrant issued was unlawfully procured and intended to harass him.

He also sought a declaration that a notice marking him as wanted was void.

In its judgement, the court found Bissue’s claims entirely unfounded, stating there was no evidence to support his allegations. The central question was whether an arrest warrant had indeed been issued by the Kaneshie District Court for OSP against Bissue.

The court ruled that it was Bissue’s responsibility to provide proof of such a warrant, which he failed to do.

The judge concluded that no warrant had been issued and dismissed the claim as a figment of the imagination of Bissue and awarded costs of GHC10,000 against him.

This ruling cleared the path for the OSP to continue its investigations into Mr Bissue’s involvement with the defunct IMCIM and, in another separate case, pursue charges related to allegations of corruption as depicted in the Tiger Eye P.I. documentary Galamsey Fraud Part 1.