State ends cross-examination of Woyome

The state on Thursday ended its cross-examination at the Fast Track High Court of Alfred Agbesi Woyome, a businessman standing trial for defrauding by false pretenses and causing financial loss to the state.

The accused person's lawyer told the Court presided over by Mr Justice Ajet-Nasam that that he would re-examine the accused person on the next adjourned date.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is on a 20 million Ghana cedis bail.

The case is adjourned to November 19.

The state said all the monies Woyome claimed from his petition to the Attorney General was based on figures which did not exist but the accused disagreed, saying, he based his claims on the total summation on the letters of support put in the bidding box and approved by the committee.

He said the claims were also based on the default judgment ordering the government to pay him and all these while in court government was always represented.

The Prosecution said the accused person's claim should have been directed to VAMED not the state but Woyome said that was incorrect, he made the claims to government and when they failed to pay, he went to court and had justice.

Mrs Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, Chief State Attorney asked the accused person whether in his petition to the A-G, he based his purported 20 per cent claim on a figure in excess of one billion euros.

In response Woyome said it was correct, saying the amount included over 300 million euros for the hospitals and spa.

He also said the over 12 million euros was for the tissue center facility to solve the food security problem.

When asked whether, he was aware that the hospitals and the spa were not part of the CAN 2008 tournament and that this was added to inflate the claim.

The accused person said that was the exact amount he raised based on the conditionality attached to the loan and the report on the legacy and this was accepted by the Van Lair Dosu Committee

The Chief State Attorney said the committee stated in its conclusion that government looked for its own funding for the CAN 2008; the accused person disagreed, saying “I never said that but rather the committee said due to the time frame, government must look for its own funding and I arranged a bridge financing”.