Abodakpi vedict on February 5

Accra, Jan. 15, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court would on February 5, 2007 deliver its verdict on Mr Daniel Kwasi Abodakpi, a Former Minister of Trade and Industry, facing charges of conspiracy and wilfully causing 2.73 billion cedis financial loss to the State.

Abodakpi was standing trial with the late Victor Selormey, a Former Deputy Finance Minister.


Abodakpi and Selormey were being tried on seven counts of conspiracy to commit crime; defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing a total loss of 2.73 billion cedis to the State.


He has denied all the charges and is currently on self-recognisance bail in the sum of three billion cedis.


The Court fixed the date after Mr Abodakpi's counsel; Mr Charles Hayibor raised some arguments on the point of law after submitting his address to the Court.


Mr Hayibor pointed out that a letter containing some vital information was missing.


He said Mrs Agnes Batsa; a Secretary in charge of International Relations at the Ministry of Finance; had mentioned that the said letter was with the Police adding, =91once they failed to produce that letter the evidence is incomplete".

Mr Hayibor said in case where there were documentary and oral evidence, there was the need for the Court to depend on the documentary evidence.


Referring to the Prosecution's address to the Court, Mr Hayibor pointed out that the Prosecution claimed that Abodakpi had paid 250,000 dollars in excess for the feasibility study of the Science and Technology Valley Park Project and since Aboadakpi was accused of causing financial loss of 400,000 dollars; that should have led to the amendment of the charge sheet.


He, therefore, prayed the Court to take critical look at the charge sheet and the address of the Prosecution and to acquit and discharge his client.


The Prosecution said between May and December 2000, the accused persons allegedly transferred 400,000 dollars into the local bank account of Dr Fred Owusu-Boadu, a consultant, through ECOBANK (Ghana) Limited.


The money, whose transfers were authorized by Selormey, was to be used as fees for feasibility studies towards the establishment of the Project.


The Project contract was to have been witnessed by the

Legal Officers at the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the


Attorney-General's Department, but that was not done. The transfers had no official correspondence between Dr Owusu-Boadu and either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Trade and Industry.


The Prosecution said both Abodakpi and the Consultant signed what was purported to be a contract but there was no witness and the contract document was not initialled page by page as required.


The contract lacked the detailed information required in a feasibility study; such as market analysis; financial projections and analysis to determine the financial viability and risk analysis of the project, the Prosecution said.


It said there was the highly irregular use of letterheads from a Texas University, with bills amounting to 400,000 dollars when the University was not a party to the contract.