Today in 2017: Money laundering reports about Asantehene inaccurate - Manhyia

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, while on a visit in the UK in 2017, was reported to have laundered £350,000. The Manhyia Palace refuted the claim stating that the report was inaccurate and inconsistent.

The report by UK's Telegraph and Daily Mail added that, the Otumfuo handed £350,000 cash to a banker to be deposited on his behalf at the Ghana International Bank in the UK.

Read the full story originally published on October 11, 2017, on Ghanaweb

Joy News sources at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi have dismissed money laundering reports against Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, describing them as inaccurate.

They say they have read the story first carried by United Kingdom's Telegraph and Daily Mail Tuesday and have found it disbelieving because, the King will not contravene any country's laws.

The Asantehene, who was in the UK, is reported to have handed £350,000 cash to a banker to be deposited on his behalf at the Ghana International Bank in the UK.

The bank official who handled the transfer, Mark Arthur, said he did that because he is a subject of the King and could not question him over the money.

He has since lost his job, which is a subject of litigation in the European country.

The Bank reported the matter to the UK’s National Crime Agency after the money was "suspiciously" transferred to Jersey, an Island in the country.

Although there has not been any official response from the Manhyia Palace, close sources told Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor that the reports are mischievous. The sources say Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will not engage in money laundering because he is a known figure across the world who has several properties well-known, across the world including the UK.

According to them, if UK authorities at any point in time had doubt that the King has violated any of their laws, they would have filed a formal complaint with Ghana's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

They believe the Ghana International Bank has a history of mishandling transactions of the Asantehene, who is a prestige banker with them for so many years.

The sources who added that they are seeking clearance from the Otumfuo to speak to react at the appropriate time, also argued that for someone who carries a diplomatic passport, the Asantehene is exempted from certain cash limit when entering the UK.

Unperturbed residents in the Garden City who have rubbished the news say so far the Asantehene was not cited to have broken any law.

They are treating it as one of the many reports which aim to defame one of the revered overlords in the world.