Ken Ofori-Atta skipped prosecutor summons over a number of corruption claims, together with multimillion-dollar cathedral undertaking.
Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been positioned on Interpol’s purple discover record after allegedly utilizing public workplace for private acquire.
Ofori-Atta, whose location stays unclear as he reportedly seeks medical therapy, 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 undertaking 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 individual after he failed to look for a scheduled interrogation.
The OSP insists Ofori-Atta should seem in individual, rejecting requests from his authorized workforce for a digital session on medical grounds.
The prosecutor’s discover, printed by the state-run Ghana Information Company on Monday, said plenty of attainable areas, together with the US, the UK, South Africa, Guyana, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.
“We won’t 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 workforce, 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 isn’t being delicate to the problems at hand, particularly figuring out that Mr Ofori-Atta is unwell and receiving therapy,” mentioned 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 legal professional common is at present constructing 33 circumstances 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.
