Four accused persons, including former government official Kwabena Adu-Boahen, his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng, Mildred Donkor, and Advantage Solutions Limited, have pleaded not guilty to multiple corruption-related charges involving GHC49 million.
The charges stem from investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and are being prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General.
At the Criminal Division of the High Court, the accused entered their pleas after the presiding judge, Justice Eugene Nyante Nyadu, dismissed an application from defence counsel, Samuel Atta-Akyea, seeking to postpone the proceedings due to alleged procedural irregularities.
According to Mr. Atta-Akyea, the accused were summoned by EOCO on April 29 and informed of impending charges, only to be unexpectedly arraigned the following day without prior service.
The Attorney General opposed the adjournment, insisting the accused and their lawyer were well aware of the charges.
The court subsequently proceeded with reading the charges, which included stealing, defrauding by false pretence, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.
Kwabena Adu-Boahen faces seven individual charges, while his wife faces one count of benefiting from her husband’s misuse of public office.
The couple is jointly charged with conspiracy to steal, and all four parties face additional charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The proceedings are expected to continue on Friday when the court will review in-camera evidence presented by the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, who is seeking the remand of Mr. Adu-Boahen. The prosecution claims he attempted to tamper with a key witness in the case. However, defence counsel strongly challenged the claim, citing the accused’s monitored status under state agencies. Pending this determination, all accused persons have been granted temporary bail under existing terms.
