Minister hides billion cedis in private account

The minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Charles Bintim is alleged to have deposited ? 1 billion in his private account.

The minister is alleged to have walked to the High Street branch of the Barclays Bank in Accra with ?1 billion to open a private account in July 2005.

According to the Insight newspaper, in September of the same year, he went back to the bank and deposited an amount of ?450 million into the same account.

The Insight newspaper says a month later, the minister again deposited ?50 million into the same account.

According to the Insight newspaper, on March 21, 2006, the minister in the company of his wife and a police escort went to the bank again to deposit another ?450 million.

The Insight newspaper wants to know where the minister got all the monies?

Second, have appropriate taxes been paid on whatever transactions that yields so much money?

The paper also wants to know why a public official like Charles Bintim is shunning state owned banks and depositing billions of cedis into foreign banks?

It also wants to know whether the Barclays account is the only account being held by Minister Bintim and how fat will accounts held by other ministers be?