Lawyer in alleged money laundering act pleads for variation of bail terms
A lawyer allegedly involved in aiding money laundering activities, Charles Owusu Juanah, on Thursday prayed for a variation of the bail granted him by the Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court.
Juanah was last week granted bail in the sum of $4 million with two sureties, one of which is to be justified.
His alleged accomplice, Victor Amoah, was admitted to bail under same bail terms.
They were also ordered to report to the offices of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) daily.
Mr George Heward-Mills, counsel for Juanah, who moved a motion for variation of bail on Thursday, noted that the bail condition was burdensome as such they were unable to meet it.
He prayed the Court to vary the bail term so his client could meet the conditions.
The Court obliged and ordered that Juanah should be admitted to bail in the sum of four million dollars with three sureties one to be justified. The justification, the court said should be a deed title worth 2.5 million dollars deposited at the Court’s Registry.
Victor Amoah, the second accused, has however managed to execute his bail.
In the case Nana Kwaku Agyei, the third accused, who was remanded at the last sitting, was granted bail in the sum of four million US dollars, with three sureties.
Agyei, through his counsel, Mr Joseph Turkson, submitted to the Court a medical report of his (Agyei’s) health status and prayed the court to admit him to bail.
Mr Edward Cudjoe, a State Attorney, in response to the bail, noted that the conditions under which the Court granted bail was proper with regard of the seriousness of the offence.
Mr Cudjoe said if Amoah had managed to execute the bail, it was only fair that Juanah met the conditions as well.
He informed the court that he had seen the medical report on Agyei.
The Court adjourned the matter to February 2, saying it would commence hearing whether prosecution was ready or not.
The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and aiding and abetting money laundering activities before the trial judge, Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam.
They were accused of obtaining, through money laundering activities, $3.5 million from a Dubai-based businessman, Mohammed Shafiq, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Jampur Group, and his agents.
Juanah, who is alleged to be the principal architect, is said to have collected the $3.5 million from the GT Bank headquarters about 9:45 p.m. on November 17, 2011 after luring Mr Shafiq and his agents into the country to establish business dealings in gold.
The prosecution said when Mr Shafiq and his agents arrived in Ghana, they were told that the gold had been lodged in a vault at the SG-SSB Bank and were made to pay $3.5 million before it would be released.
It said the money was lodged in an account at the Abeka branch of the GT Bank and the alleged gold subsequently handed over to the buyers.
The prosecution further stated that when Mr Shafiq and his agents decided to verify the authenticity of the 135 kilogrammes of gold after it had been delivered, only five kilogrammes was found to be authentic.
It said when Mr Shafiq and his agents complained and threatened to lodge a complaint with the police, Juanah allegedly warned them not to dare, as they would be incarcerated for transacting an illegitimate business as illegal immigrants.
According to the Prosecution, Mr Shafiq and his agents quickly left the country for Dubai and were advised to lodge a complaint with the National Security, which referred the matter to EOCO.
Investigations had so far revealed that Juanah drafted the contract agreement for the transactions and acted as solicitor for both the buyer and the seller, while Amoah, a friend of Juanah and Agyei, acted as consultant to Mr Shafiq and his agents, the Prosecutions said.
Source: GNA