Accra, June 21, GNA - The Financial Division (High Court) hearing the Ghana International Airline (GIA) case would on July 16, this year, give ruling on the application by the accused persons requesting for relevant documents to the Supreme Court for interpretation.
The State has opposed the application on the grounds that sections of the criminal procedure code did not allow accused persons standing summary trial to have access to such documents.
The accused persons are Dr Richard Winfred Anane, former Minister of Transport; Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, former Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The rest are Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Sammy Crabbe, former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Professor George Gyan-Baffour, former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. They are facing 22 counts of causing financial loss to the State, defrauding by false pretences, conspiracy to deceive public officers, deceit of public officer, misappropriation of public funds, opening an offshore account without authorisation from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), conspiracy to steal and stealing.
The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the court presided over by Mr Justice Bright Mensah, has granted them self-recognisance bail.
Ms Gertrude Aikins, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in response to the application prayed the court to dismiss their claim because it had no merit.
She said their request for the prosecution to disclose relevant pre-trial documents to them were untenable and not in consonance with the country's laws.
Ms Aikins said since the matter before the court was a summary trial, the accused persons were bound by the court to access all documents and other materials tendered, and if possible reject them.
She said most of the cases cited by defence counsel were the Common Law and only persuasive in effect.
Ms Aikins argued that Common Law did not take precedence over the primary legislation and had not been incorporated into the country's legislation. She said criminal procedure code had in-built protection that ensure d fair trial for accused persons. Ms Aikins said claim by defence counsel that the case before the cou rt was a constitutional matter and should be referred to the Supreme Court f or interpretation was unsustainable. She noted that the case was a statutory one and the High Court had t he jurisdiction and power to determine it therefore, there was no need to re fer the matter to the Supreme Court. Mr Acquah Sampson, Counsel for Dr Anane said the DPP failed to raise
any new submission concerning the constitutional provision which was unequivocal and prayed the court to grant the relief's sought by the applicants. The facts as presented by Ms Aikins are that Dr Anane misrepresented
facts on GIAL, which was then not in existence, to Cabinet of Former President John Agyekum Kufuor and misled government to buy shares of a fraudulent company. Dr Anane's action subsequently led to the liquidation of Ghana Airwa ys. The DPP said Dr Anane declared that four companies had expressed interest in Ghana Airways and later presented a letter of intent, which w as signed between Government of Ghana and GIAL to form a new company called New Ghana Airways (NGA), although GIAL was at that time not in existence. She said the memorandum Dr Anane presented to Cabinet for signing wa s dated September 9, 2004 but GIA was not in existence at that date. Ms Aikins said that although PriceWaterhouse Coopers had rated NGA,
which had signed an agreement with government to form GIAL, third after K LM and Ghanair, two other companies, which had submitted their bids to take over Ghana Airways, however, NGA won the bid.
She said Mr Mpiani, on June 2, 2005, wrote to the Chairman of Government Taskforce on Ghana Airways Limited authorising the taskforce t o take all necessary steps to put the airline into formal liquidation. The DPP said Dr Akoto-Osei signed a loan agreement, committing the government to a financial obligation of paying GH¢15 million from the S ocial Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to GIAL. She said Dr Akoto-Osei gave the amount from SSNIT to GIAL as a loan,
without Parliamentary approval and at a time when the minority shareholde rs of the Airline had abandoned the company by withdrawing 1.9 million dolla rs from GIAL account without the consent of majority shareholder, Government of Ghana.
Ms Aikins said Mr Mpiani authorised the release of six million dolla rs to GIAL in September 2008, without Parliamentary approval. According to the prosecution, Mr Crabbe, who represented the minorit y Shareholders in the company, on June 27, 2005 withdrew 1.9 million dollar s from the Government of Ghana's account, without approval from the governm ent (the majority shareholder).
