Mahama is playing cheap politics – Attorney-General responds to former prez’s comment on Cecilia Dapaah’s cash saga

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has described ex-President Mahama’s statement that he will reopen the Cecilia Dapaah cash saga if he becomes president again as “cheap politics.”

He said the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress is so desperate for power that he capitalises on any public discourse to score political points.

“He is only playing cheap politics. He hears something, then he says I will fix it,” Mr Dame said on Joy FM, on May 2.

The Attorney-General commented on his reaction to Mr Mahama’s statement posted on his X platform on May 2, 2024.

The former President wrote, “My government will reopen investigations into alleged acts of corruption and graft in the Cecelia Dapaah case.”

The comment of the NDC 2024 presidential candidate comes following the Attorney-General’s advice for the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to discontinue its investigation into the alleged money laundering case against the former Minister.

Upon a request for advice by EOCO on the matter, the Attorney-General’s office, in a letter dated April 25, 2024, and copied to EOCO, said it found that the OSP did not submit the report on its collaborative investigation to EOCO.

Additionally, the office noted the OSP has not responded to EOCO’s request for its findings.

According to the Attorney-General’s office, the docket presented to EOCO only contains the OSP’s letter transmitting the docket, the diary of action, statements taken during the investigation, and letters written by the OSP to other institutions like the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and banks for inquiries.

Further analysis of the docket by the Attorney-General’s office revealed that the OSP did not find any evidence of corruption or corruption-related offences against Cecilia Dapaah.

The Attorney-General’s office emphasised that the key to pursuing money laundering investigations is the capacity to prove that financial gains were obtained from criminal proceeds arising from unlawful activity.

“In the absence of the identification of any criminality associated with the properties retrieved from the suspects, the OSP’s referral to EOCO for investigations to be conducted into money laundering is without basis.”

The Attorney-General also advised against EOCO investigating the source of Cecilia Dapaah’s funds on the basis that the CID had been tasked with taking charge of that aspect of the case.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office had requested EOCO after determining that the case involving over 1 million dollars found in the former minister’s house, among other issues, did not fall under its mandate, although it suspected possible money laundering.