Friday, January 20, 2012 (Page 3 Lead)
The lawyer accused of aiding money laundering activities, Charles Owusu Juanah, was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $4 million with two sureties, one of which is to be justified.
The Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court also granted bail in the sum of $4 million with two sureties, one of which to be justified, to his alleged accomplice, Victor Amoah.
They were also ordered to report themselves at the offices of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) at 10 a.m. daily.
A third accused person, Nana Kwaku Agyei, was, however, remanded to reappear on January 26, 2012.
Juanah and Amoah, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and aiding and abetting money laundering activities, were granted bail after the prosecution had substituted an earlier charge sheet with a new one.
They were initially charged with conspiracy and money laundering. They are being 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.
At the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, a large crowd which had thronged the court premises to give support to the accused persons applauded thunderously immediately the trial judge, Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam, announced that the two had been granted bail.
The judge, however, brought the crowd to order and warned them not to repeat that act or risk being cited for contempt of court.
Bail was granted to the two after their team of lawyers had prayed the court to grant them bail on the grounds that charges preferred against them were bailable offences.
Lead counsel for Juanah and Amoah, Mr Ellis Owusu-Fordjour, argued that the charges preferred against his clients were flawed and asked, “How can one aid and abet money laundering offences?”
He prayed the court to grant his clients bail for proper investigations to be carried out to determine whether or not his clients were the proper ones to be charged.
Mr Owusu-Fordjour informed the court that his clients were responsible persons who had offices and permanent places of abode and for that reason they would not flout the court’s orders when granted bail.
He also informed the court that his clients had substantial sureties who were willing to stand in for the accused persons, adding that the Constitution deemed the accused persons innocent until proved guilty.
One of the lawyers for Juanah and Amoah, Mr George Heward-Mills, argued that it would be unjust for the court to hold their clients under the circumstance, adding, “If you persist in prayer, the Lord will answer you.”
Counsel for Agyei, Mr Joseph Turkson, prayed the court to grant his client bail under reasonable terms and conditions.
A State Attorney, Mr Edward Cudjoe, on the other hand, disagreed with the defence team and prayed the court to remand the accused persons, since investigations were ongoing.
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.
It said 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.
According to the prosecution, 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.
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