Fake flyer, false caption - Mahama has not sold any Dubai hotel to Inusah Fuseini

In the wake of the May 2024 investigative report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the name of former President John Dramani Mahama has been mentioned in local media reports.

Headlines like "Mahama appointees," and "Mahama's men" were used by some newspapers and online portals despite the former president's name not appearing anywhere in the report.

On social media platform X, a visual card seeking to link the former president directly to the scandal has been circulated especially by pro-government accounts.

The said visual card suggests that it was one circulated by Abusua FM and Ultimate FM, subsidiaries of the EIB network.

It shows portrait of the former president and Inusah Fuseini, a former roads minister mentioned in the report as having properties worth over 6 million dollars in Dubai. He has flatly denied the allegations and hinted of legal action.

The visual card bears the caption: "Mahama sold his Dubai Hotels to Inusah Fuseini in 2021 to fund his campaign - Report reveals."

GhanaWeb Fact-Check desk interrogated the flyer and found the following:

a. Abusua and Ultimate FM had not issued any such flyer - GhanaWeb run checks on their Facebook and X.

b. The caption on the flyer is false because it is not borne out by the available facts in the report.

c. Also, the report does not state when Inusah allegedly bought the properties hence it is suspicious that the flyer states 2021 as when he bought some apartments.

The official website of the former president has also fact-checked the specific claim. "This information is fake," they captioned the flyer.

The May 2024 investigative report by OCCRP alleged that Inusah Fuseini has over US$6 million worth of real estate properties listed in his name in Dubai.

According to the report, the former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, is the current owner of a total of 20 apartments located in six different plush areas dotted across the gulf city.

The report dubbed "How Dirty Money Finds a Home in Dubai Real Estate," and published on May 14, 2024, looked into how criminals, politicians and sanctioned individuals stash their wealth in Dubai by investing in properties.

"Dubai's reputation for financial secrecy, its lack of property taxes, and relative political stability have also made the city an appealing spot for those looking to safely park funds abroad should the political tides turn against them at home," part of the report reads.

In all, the total value of apartments said to be owned by the former minister summed up to six million, nine hundred and forty thousand, three hundred thirty dollars (US$6,940,330).

The report also named three other Ghanaians including Anthony Alfred Benin, a former judge on the Supreme Court of Ghana and the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Court of Justice, who had one property in Dubai linked to him.

Joseph Kwaku Asamoah, a former finance director of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, also confirmed to OCCRP that he was registered as the co-owner of two Dubai properties.

Asamoah, however, indicated that "he had not paid for them and that they were acquired by another person."

Moses Aduko Asaga, a former member of Ghana’s parliament and former chief executive of the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana, was also captured in the report with one Dubai property being linked to him.

SARA