Stephen Amoah betted GH¢1.44 million on MASLOC forensic audit

The Herald has obtained documents from the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) showing that the state paid more than GH¢1.44 million for forensic audit services commissioned during the tenure of former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Stephen Amoah, alias “Stika”, to investigate his predecessor, Christine Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, and the Centre’s former Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Axim.

Both accused persons, convicted by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe to 10 years’ and 5 years’ imprisonment, respectively, have since been set free by the Supreme Court and the Appeals Court.

However, while Daniel Axim has been granted bail by the Supreme Court pending an appeal, Tamakloe-Attionu’s release from Nsawam Maximum Security Prison, following the quashing of her conviction by the Court of Appeal, has been blocked by the current Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine.

The documents show that Baffour Awuah & Associates, a forensic audit and investigations firm engaged by Dr Amoah, currently the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nhyiaeso Constituency in the Ashanti Region after he succeeded Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu, received GH¢1,441,068.31 for its services between September 2017 and March 2018.

Three Judges shred Ex-MASLOC boss’ 10-year conviction

The payments, supported by VAT invoices and receipts seen by The Herald, were made in September and October 2017, as well as January, February and March 2018.

The revelations come in the wake of the Court of Appeal’s decision to quash Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction, finding that the prosecution led by Godfred Yeboah Dame, the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Akufo-Addo government, had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The Herald has also gathered information suggesting that further questions may arise over the disposal of some of the vehicles that formed part of the criminal prosecution against the former MASLOC bosses, with sources alleging that the sales were undertaken on the instructions of Dr Amoah following his appointment by the Akufo-Addo administration.

The forensic audit formed a central part of the prosecution’s case against Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu and Axim during the trial before the Financial and Economic Division of the High Court.

The principal witness for the prosecution was Mr Baffour Awuah, who personally testified before the trial court on the findings of his firm’s investigations. There are claims that he appeared very unwell throughout the trial and demanded intermittent breaks during cross-examination.

However, the Court of Appeal’s 94-page judgment cast serious doubt on the evidential foundation of the prosecution’s case, concluding that the charges against Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu had not been established beyond reasonable doubt.

The three-member panel, comprising Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Samuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, unanimously acquitted and discharged the former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer, setting aside her conviction and 10-year prison sentence.

The appellate court further criticised aspects of the prosecution conducted under the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and held that the trial court had failed to properly apply the constitutional presumption of innocence.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court granted bail to Daniel Axim pending the determination of his appeal against his conviction.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, a five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Amadu Tanko, admitted Axim to bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties, one to be justified with landed property of equivalent value.

The panel included Justices Samuel Asiedu, Senyo Dzamefe, Philip Bright Mensah, and Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.

The court further ordered him to surrender his passport, report to the Registrar every two weeks, and directed that the full record of proceedings be transmitted to the Court of Appeal within one month to facilitate the hearing of his appeal.

Axim had argued through his lawyers, led by Augustine Obour, that he had already served nearly two years of his five-year sentence while his appeal remained unheard. Although the prosecution opposed the application, the Supreme Court granted bail in view of the delay in determining the appeal.

Tamakloe-Attionu, who served as MASLOC Chief Executive Officer between November 2013 and January 2017, was convicted in absentia by the High Court in April 2024 and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after travelling to the United States for medical treatment and failing to return to continue her trial.

She was extradited from the United States to Ghana on June 9, 2026, becoming the first person extradited from the US to Ghana since 2009 to serve a criminal sentence.

Last week, however, the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitted and discharged her after holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the offences beyond reasonable doubt and that the evidence presented did not support the convictions.

The court also expressed concern about the manner in which the prosecution had conducted the case.

Despite the Court of Appeal’s ruling, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Ayine, has directed the Director of Public Prosecutions to seek a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The application seeks to preserve the status quo while the apex court determines the intended appeal, effectively preventing Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu’s immediate release from prison despite the Court of Appeal’s judgment in her favour.

Addressing journalists during the Government Accountability Series, Dr Ayine defended the decision to challenge the ruling, insisting that the High Court judgment retained merit notwithstanding its reversal.

He maintained that the decision to appeal was based on professional considerations rather than political or personal factors, adding that although he had inherited the case from the previous administration, he had independently reviewed the docket and accepted responsibility for the Government’s legal position.

Dr Ayine also disclosed that Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu was a personal friend but insisted that the appeal was intended solely to uphold accountability and allow the Supreme Court to finally determine the issues raised by the Court of Appeal.

The Attorney-General said the Government would carefully review the Court of Appeal’s judgment before filing detailed grounds of appeal at the Supreme Court.