Democracy and Development Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), John Osae-Kwapong, says Ghanaian law enforcement agencies already possess information that could form the basis for domestic investigations into the AKSA Energy-related bribery allegations.
His comments follow disclosures that Ghanaian institutions, including the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), collaborated with US authorities in investigations that contributed to the conviction of an individual over a bribery scheme linked to a power plant deal involving Ghana.
According to Mr Osae-Kwapong, the collaboration demonstrates that Ghanaian law enforcement agencies have the capacity to investigate complex corruption cases and gather evidence capable of supporting criminal accountability.
“For me, it says to me that these are agencies capable of conducting investigations and coming up with evidence needed to support holding persons accountable for allegedly having committed certain crimes,” he said.
He, however, believes the collaboration with US authorities raises a further question about what Ghanaian institutions intend to do with the information they have gathered.
Mr Osae-Kwapong said the disclosures by the OSP suggest that Ghana may already have preliminary information that could be used to initiate its own accountability processes.
“If you look at the OSP statement, then it also says to me that these critical institutions are in possession of at least some information that can be the basis of triggering our own accountability processes within, you know, in Ghana,” he explained.
He argued that Ghana should not simply rely on the outcome of the US proceedings but should use the information obtained through the collaboration to examine whether any Ghanaian individuals or institutions may have been involved in wrongdoing.
“At least that’s my take on it, that if EOCO and other agencies, they help in terms of collaborating with the U.S. in pursuing this case against the said gentleman who has been convicted in the U.S., then it tells me that we do have some preliminary information that we can use as the first step towards also triggering our own accountability processes in Ghana,” he said.
It follows the US conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, Asante Kwaku Berko, in the high-profile international bribery case.
The OSP said on Monday, August 10, that it assisted the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with investigative and evidentiary material through Ghana’s established mutual legal assistance framework.
According to the anti-corruption agency, the support provided by Ghana was specifically recognised by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as having played a significant role in the prosecution.
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