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General News of Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-02-05
Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu
Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu, Managing Director of the Center for Microfinance and Small Loans (MASLOC), immediately denied the charges of the Attorney-General (AG) for stealing money belonging to the state and intentionally caused financial losses. in the state during his tenure.
On January 31, 2019, the AG dragged Attionu to the High Court of Accra with a case where she (Attionu) stole money and deliberately caused the state a financial loss. rising to more than 90 million GH ¢ while she was the boss of MASLOC. from November 2013 to January 7, 2017.
However, at his first court appearance yesterday, Attionu pleaded not guilty to all 78 counts of theft, deliberately causing financial losses to the state, damage to public property, improper payment of funds public, conspiracy, unlawful engagement resulting in government liability, money laundering and violation of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Law 663).
Daniel Axim, the head of operations of MASLOC South Sector, accused by the chief governor of conspiring with Attionu to steal the state, also pleaded not guilty.
At the hearing yesterday, MM. Agbesi Kodzo Dzakpasu and Agyei Mensah Baffour represented respectively Attionu and Axim as defense lawyers, while the State was represented by Ms. Al-Afua Akuffo, representative.
Bail
On the basis of an application for bail of the two accused's lawyers, the court, chaired by Judge Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, granted Attionu and Axim bail.
Attionu was allowed to pay a deposit of 5 million GH ¢, with two sureties, while Axim was admitted to a deposit of one million GH ¢, with a surety.
Depending on the conditions of release on bail, sureties must be persons with independent and sufficient means, without criminal record or judicial investigation.
In addition, Judge Asare-Botwe ordered the defendants to deposit their pbadports at the court registry.
In the meantime, the court ordered the A-G to disclose to the accused the prosecution documents relating to the case at his disposal.
This is in line with a Supreme Court decision that made disclosure compulsory in all criminal trials.
According to the court, the A-G must put the documents at the disposal of the accused before February 15, 2019 and also file them in court.
The hearing continues on March 4, 2019 for a case management conference.
NDC gurus in court
As in previous trials of former administration officials, sympathizers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and leading members of the party invaded the court in solidarity with Attionu.
Among them was former Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah; Betty Mold Iddrisu and Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, former attorneys general, and Ms. Joyce Bawa Mogtari, former Deputy Minister of Transport.
The case of A-G
The A-G accused Attionu of diverting 500,000 GH ¢ from a company that had received MASLOC's support in 2014.
This is also the case of the AG which, in 2013, following a fire at the Kantamanto market, President John Mahama then asked MASLOC to provide badistance of 1.46 million GH ¢ to the victims of the disaster, but Attionu has diverted some of the money.
The AG further stated that Attionu had inflated the price of some items bought by MASLOC during its tenure and, in some cases, had signed public contracts without the approval of the company. Public Procurement Authority.
According to A-G, a contract with Mac Autos for the supply of 350 vehicles to MASLOC was signed on December 6, 2016 without any approval from the PPA.
The vehicles, said AG, included Chevrolet Sparklites, Isuzu buses and Chevrolet Aveos, for which investigations revealed that the actual retail price offered by Mac Autos for the same model was much higher than the market price. free.
A-G again accused Attionu of inflating the price of 200 mobile phones purchased by MASLOC for a project in November 2016.
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