Kissi Agyebeng pushes for constitutional backing for asset recovery without conviction

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has called for non-conviction-based asset recovery to be entrenched in Ghana’s Constitution as part of measures to make the fight against corruption more effective.

He believes the current requirement for anti-corruption agencies to first secure criminal convictions before recovering unexplained wealth makes it difficult for the state to retrieve assets suspected to have been acquired through illicit means.

OSP recovered GH¢8.5m, $2m, saved state over GH¢100m – Agyebeng

Speaking at the second edition of the National Anti-Corruption Dialogue in Accra, Agyebeng said institutions such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) should be given stronger legal backing to pursue unexplained wealth.

“I also call for non-conviction-based asset recovery to be entrenched in the Constitution. I believe that without it, the fight against corruption could suffer a major setback,” he said.

According to him, the reform must be properly established in law to allow anti-corruption institutions to act decisively in cases involving unexplained wealth.

“To require institutions like EOCO and OSP to secure convictions before we are able to go after unexplained wealth is rather putting the cart before the horse,” he added.

Agyebeng also proposed the introduction of a reverse onus provision, which would require individuals whose wealth appears disproportionate to their lawful income to account for the source of their assets.

He argued that where a person cannot satisfactorily explain how they acquired their wealth, the law should allow authorities to presume corruption and require the individual to provide evidence to the contrary.

“The presumption of corruption should be instituted, where it is very clear that a person is unable to explain their wealth as much to their lawful sources of income,” he said.

Agyebeng explained that under such a system, the responsibility would shift to the individual to demonstrate that their wealth, assets and lifestyle were acquired through legitimate means.

He said such reforms would strengthen the ability of Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions to tackle unexplained wealth and recover assets without necessarily waiting for a criminal conviction.

NA/BAI