[ad_1]
General News on Friday, March 29, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-03-29
Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, Former Chair of the NCA Board of Directors
A prosecution witness said that an amount of $ 500,000 had been shared between three of the five defendants brought to justice over the alleged $ 4 million scandal of the National Communication Authority (NCA) involving the purchase of a cyber-communication equipment for the state.
The investigator, Detective Inspector Michael Nkrumah, made this revelation to the Accra High Court when he presented in evidence three caveats that Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, one of the accused and former chairman of the board of the NCA, had directed the police to investigate the alleged scandal.
Chief Inspector Nkrumah read the warning statement that Baffoe-Bonnie confirmed he gave Nana Owusu Ensaw, the third accused and a former member of the NCA board, $ 500,000. , to be shared between him (Nana Ensaw), William Tetteh-Tevie, second accused and former chief executive of the NCA, and Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, fourth defendant, former badistant national security coordinator.
According to what the witness read in court, Baffoe-Bonnie reportedly told the police that Nana Ensaw had received $ 200,000, while Tevie and Osman had received $ 150,000 each.
Bank transfers and deposits alleged
Under the leadership of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Yvonne Attakorah-Obuobisa, Chief Inspector Nkrumah also testified that her investigations had revealed that on March 11, 2016, the ANC had transferred $ 4 million dollars on the account of Inferlocks Development Limited (IDL), the local partner of the Israeli company that was to supply the communication materials.
He added that when the $ 4 million hit IDL accounts, the company's principal manager, George Derek Oppong, fifth accused, made a series of withdrawals and transfers, the latest being the transfer $ 1 million to the NCA on May 15th. , 2017 as a refund.
According to the witness, in the course of investigations, he had access to the defendants' bank accounts with the help of the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC).
Chief Inspector Nkrumah said his investigations revealed that Nana Ensaw had deposited $ 300,000 into her bank account on November 3, 2016.
"During investigations, I asked A3 (Nana Ensaw) how he had recovered the $ 300,000 and deposited the money in one day. A3 m said that when he was at the faculty of medicine, he had the intention of creating a private clinic and so he spared.
"He also said he got a contract and it was part of the amount. He showed me the contract, but no proof of payment was attached, "said Chief Inspector Nkrumah.
The hearing continues on April 4, 2019 to allow the defense to cross-examine the witness.
Statements of caution admitted into evidence
The prosecution was able to file Baffoe-Bonnie's three cautionary statements after the court ruled that they were admissible.
In its ruling yesterday, the court, chaired by Judge Eric Kyei Baffour, said that the statements that Baffoe-Bonnie had given to the police on May 19, 2017 had been made in the presence of his lawyer and his wife. an independent witness, as required by law. .
However, the court did not admit into evidence three more warning statements that Baffoe-Bonnie had given to the police on May 9 and 10, 2017 on the grounds that they had been pronounced in the US. absence of an independent witness, as stipulated by law. .
On March 5, 2019, Mr. Thaddeus Sory, a Baffoe-Bonnie lawyer, challenged the admissibility of the police warning and charged his client's statements that his client and the rest of the defendants had received financial benefits. of the purchase of cybersecurity equipment.
Mr. Sory felt that Baffoe-Bonnie made these statements without the presence of a lawyer, while the police did not inform him of his right to a lawyer of his choice.
According to Sory, his client also made statements under duress after being threatened.
The case of the prosecution
The prosecution said the previous government had used an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, to supply $ 6 million worth of sound equipment to allow authorities to intercept communications and prevent terrorist activities.
The local agent, IDL, charged $ 2 million to facilitate the transaction, bringing the total to $ 8 million.
The facts indicate that national security did not have the money to finance the transaction and that, for this reason, the NCA, which exercised control over the use of this type of equipment, was tasked with finance the project.
The prosecution claims that the NCA made available $ 4 million for the equipment, but the defendants hijacked it.
The defendants have been charged with various counts of indictment for intentionally causing a financial loss of $ 4 million to the state, for theft, collusion, money laundering, among other crimes. ;charge.
They have pleaded not guilty to all charges and are currently on bail in the amount of one million dollars each.
Source link
