The Winneba District Magistrate Court presided over by Isaac Oheneba Kufuor, has ordered James Kofi Annan to pay $100,000 to a complainant.

Though the court in its ruling acquitted him of charges of stealing, abetment of crime and dishonestly receiving, it ordered that the money at the centre of the controversy be paid back to the complainant.

The 2020 NDC aspiring MP was hauled before the Winneba District Magistrate Court in February 2020 after he was accused of stealing and dishonestly appropriating an amount of ¢100,000.00 mistakenly deposited into his GCB account by the first accused, John Banafo who is at large.

Prosecution alleged that Mr Kofi Annan procured the said amount by means of stealing from the complainant.

The court ruling that “the evidence led in the case on the charges of abetment of stealing and dishonestly receiving, leaves much to be desired.”

The Court also said, “the evidence presented by the prosecution could not in any way link the second accused person (James Kofi Annan) to the personality who allegedly stole the cheques and sent someone else to pay them into the 2nd accused person’s Account.”

It added, “whatever links there could be to the source of the stolen funds, are so remote and not even apparent on the face of the record.”

The judge, however, said there is ample evidence that the money that landed in Mr Kofi Annan’s account on the 4^th and 7^th February of 2020 was from the complainant's account.

The ruling said the court is empowered under section 146 of Act 30 to make orders for the restoration of money obtained through crime after conviction and, therefore, ordered the accused to pay back the money. 

The judge further said no evidence of complicity has been made against the complainant except that he was not fairly candid when he stated that he did not receive an alert from his bank before the transfer.

He added that to keep the money from him is to punish him when indeed no charges have been levelled against him for which he has been given the chance to answer.