Reject ‘suspicious payments’ – Amidu cautions Ghanaians

Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, has cautioned Ghanaians and other public office holders to desist from accepting suspicious payments of public funds into their bank accounts.

Mr Amidu, in an article, narrated how he confronted his bankers to return an amount of money that was deposited into his account without his knowledge.

The money was from a judgment awarded in his favour by the court.

Mr Amidu said: “Many fellow citizens are not aware that the banks holding their various accounts on their behalf are under a penal statutory obligation to report to the appropriate agency lodgments and withdrawals of money exceeding certain threshholds into and from their accounts. The responsibility to ensure that one does not fall foul of the banking laws lies with the owner of the bank account who is customer to the bank and not the bank. The bank is under penal statutory responsibility to report suspicious transactions to the appropriate agency of government and the customer is under a banking responsibility to call the bank’s attention as soon as he notices any suspicious transactions or payment into his account or to give the Bank such standing instructions as will protect the account holder.”

He noted that as part of measures to fight corruption, the responsibility is upon citizens to instruct their bankers to return suspicious payments of public funds into their accounts, as it buys one time to investigate the transaction and to decide whether it is genuine for one to accept it or not.

Below is Mr Amidu’s full article: