Gov’t lacks the will to retrieve Woyome cash

Martin Amidu has cast doubts on the government’s readiness to retrieve the fifty-one million Ghana Cedis judgment debt paid to business man and party fellow, Alfred Woyome.

Speaking exclusively to Citi FM at the Supreme Court, Mr. Amidu said the current Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong lacks the interest to pursue the case in which he is seeking a retrieval of all monies allegedly paid in a fraudulent manner to the business man.


Mr Amidu alleged that the new AG was once part of a legal firm which represented the now liquidated Austro- Invest, one of the defendants in the suit.


According to him, the current AG is expected to represent the state and help the government to deal with the matter “because when I found the document, I served the Attorney General and they knew that the guy had liquidated the company and was in Ghana pursuing the money when he knew he shouldn’t do it, and that is why the court was saying that the Attorney General should take a serious view of the matter.”


Mr. Amidu noted that it is wrong for people to come into the country to issue processes “when they know that they were not operating in their country.”


“When you have an Attorney General whose chambers was defending somebody like that nature, and we have been served with a paper; the only reason why they will not act to get Austro-Invest properly dealt with is that they themselves were defending Austro-Invest at a time when it had been liquidated,” the former Attorney General said.


He explained to Citi News saying, “In court, they said I can take steps too to see what I could do and then I said to do that, we will be fight against principalities and forces because I can only do it if I believe that there will be results. The Attorney General was one of the partners in Lithur Brew & Co.”

The former AG also challenged President John Mahama to show he is committed to the fight against corruption.


“Let the government show that it is committed that this GHC 51 million, it is interested in putting it behind it. When you look at the prosecution in court, it is steady; they are not doing it well. It’s like anything concerning this Woyome case, the government is not interested. I don’t know but that is the impression one gets.”


He said the President has the chance to make history “by demonstrating to the whole world that he will not countenance these corrupt things which are going on. This is his chance and if he doesn’t do it, I am sorry but he will go down in history for it.”


According to Mr. Amidu, Marietta Brew Appiah Oppong can “rise above herself by making sure the right thing is done in spite of the fact that her chambers were handling this case before. It is a question of integrity.”


Martin Amidu complaining about the delays in the prosecuting the case said, “My worry is the delay tactics they have been playing with the Attorney General being in the lead of the delay because the Attorney General is supposed to protect the national interest."


The Supreme Court has meanwhile struck out Austro- Invest as a respondent in the case. The Supreme Court also ordered the Attorney General to take steps to ensure the managers of Austro Invest do not go unpunished for their conduct.