Ken Ofori-Atta skipped prosecutor summons over a number of corruption claims, together with multimillion-dollar cathedral mission.
Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been positioned on Interpol’s purple discover checklist after allegedly utilizing public workplace for private acquire.
Ofori-Atta, whose location stays unclear as he reportedly seeks medical remedy, is being investigated over a string of high-profile contracts regarding petroleum revenues, electrical energy provide and ambulance procurement.
He’s additionally underneath investigation over a controversial nationwide cathedral mission that swallowed tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in public cash but stays little greater than a gap within the floor.
The purple discover – a request to police worldwide to detain a suspect pending extradition – was issued 4 days after Ghana’s Workplace of the Particular Prosecutor (OSP) re-declared the 65-year-old a wished particular person after he failed to look for a scheduled interrogation.
The OSP insists Ofori-Atta should seem in particular person, rejecting requests from his authorized group for a digital session on medical grounds.
The prosecutor’s discover, printed by the state-run Ghana Information Company on Monday, said quite a lot of potential areas, together with the US, the UK, South Africa, Guyana, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.
“We is not going to countenance this conduct, not on this case,” Particular Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng informed native media on Monday.
Frank Davies, a member of Ofori-Atta’s authorized group, was cited by the information company AFP as saying medical data had been submitted “in good religion”, however that “the workplace has chosen to disregard them”.
“The particular prosecutor just isn’t being delicate to the problems at hand, particularly figuring out that Mr Ofori-Atta is unwell and receiving remedy,” stated Davies on Friday.
The brand new administration of President John Mahama has been on the heels of former authorities appointees to account for his or her tenure in workplace.
The lawyer basic is presently constructing 33 instances of corruption and associated offences in opposition to former authorities appointees.
Ofori-Atta served as former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s finance minister for seven years.
