EOCO can freeze your account without convicting you - Amanda Clinton explains

As controversy swirls around the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s declaration that Volta Regional Council of State member Dr Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple is wanted over allegations of gold fraud, legal practitioner Amanda Clinton has taken to social media to explain what EOCO can and cannot do, and why a court lifting a freeze order does not mean an investigation is over.

Her comments come on the heels of EOCO defending its decision to declare Dr Kwamigah-Atokple wanted, pushing back against a statement from the Volta Regional House of Chiefs.

According to the office, it is investigating the Council of State member and his company, Sesi-Edem Company Ltd, over gold fraud allegations, and says all attempts to get him to cooperate with the investigation since 2025 have proven futile.

Clinton, in a TikTok post on April 10, 2026, addressed the question of whether a state agency can freeze a person’s bank account while investigating a transaction.

According to her, the answer is “yes,” and it is perfectly legal.

“Agencies like EOCO have the mandate to investigate serious financial and organised crime. As part of that mandate, they may seek to temporarily freeze assets—not as a punishment, but to preserve funds while determining whether any wrongdoing has occurred,” she said.

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She walked through a practical scenario: if a complainant reports that millions of dollars were paid into a Ghanaian account for gold that was never delivered, EOCO can approach the bank, file a formal request, and seek a court order to freeze the account to prevent the funds from being spent or transferred abroad pending investigation.

Clinton then explained the difference between a freeze order and the investigation itself.

“A freeze order and an investigation are not the same thing. If a court later decides that a freeze should be lifted, that does not automatically bring the investigation to an end. The investigation can still continue to determine whether, in fact, economic and organised crime was involved.

“It simply means that, at that moment, the legal threshold for restricting access to the funds was not sufficiently met. The judge would be completely within their power to lift the order. Authorities may, however, still lawfully continue to review transactions,” she stressed.

Clinton added that EOCO retains the authority to continue reviewing transactions, gather further evidence, and examine whether a criminal element exists, especially if a pattern of similar conduct emerges.

“If you show a pattern where millions of dollars are taken, the person never receives the gold, and a significant amount of money is kept, that is what distinguishes civil matters from criminal ones,” she noted.

The legal framework underpinning EOCO’s powers, she explained, includes the EOCO Act (Act 804), which empowers the office to apply to a court to freeze property suspected to be linked to a crime at both the investigation and post-investigation stages; the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1040); and the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 30).

The Kwamigah case has drawn public attention, especially as John Dramani Mahama had issued a stern warning as far back as November 2025, cautioning public officials that his government would deal decisively with corruption.

He warned that the first person to bring scandal to his administration would face severe consequences.

Dr Kwamigah-Atokple, for his part, has denied any wrongdoing, and a District Magistrate Court in Gbese previously discharged him of earlier allegations in a ruling dated April 3, 2024.

He has maintained that the accusations against him are deliberate attempts to tarnish his reputation.

EOCO, however, insists its current investigation is separate, lawful, and ongoing.

Watch the video below:

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Can your money be frozen-even if the deal looks purely commercial ? Here’s what the law in Ghana actually says

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