FTC adjourns Tsatsu's judgement

Accra, Feb. 22, GNA - An Accra Fast Track Court (FTC) on Thursday adjourned to April 18 the case in which Tsatsu Tsikata, a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), is charged with wilfully causing financial loss of 2.3 billion cedis to the state. Prof. Emmanuel Victor O. Dankwa, lead counsel for Tsikata, said the defence team had filed a Notice of Appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal's ruling against his client.

Tsatsu earlier went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the FTC's decision not to call the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to testify in his trial.

He lost the appeal and therefore decided to go to the Supreme Court.

Tsatsu is also charged with another count of misapplying public property. He, on behalf of GNPC, guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private company, Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Fran=E7aise de D=E9veloppement in 1991, but defaulted in the payment, compelling GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, to pay the loan in 1996. The accused has denied the offence and the trial judge, Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban, an Appeal Court Judge sitting as a High Court Judge has granted him self-recognizance bail.

Major (rtd) Rowland Agbenato is a co-counsel for Tsatsu while Mrs Gertrude Aikins, Chief State Attorney, is representing the State.