A leading member of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, has sharply criticised Attorney-General Dr Dominic Ayine for what he describes as a conflict of interest in halting legal proceedings against former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor and seven others.
Speaking on Joy Prime, the Asante-Akim Central MP raised ethical concerns following Dr Ayine’s announcement during the Government Accountability Series on Monday. He insisted that the Attorney-General’s former role as legal counsel for Dr Duffuor disqualifies him from overseeing the case.
“Because he was a lawyer for Duffuor, he thinks that he is defending a civil matter, but this is a prosecution of a crime,” Mr Anyimadu-Antwi asserted. “We think that a learned lawyer, who is the top legal officer in the country, should not have gone so low. He has to explain to Ghanaians that he is involved in a conflict of interest and that is why he is doing selective justice.”
He added: “He is not doing this for everybody. He is doing it because the party involved or the leading one is NDC, and because he was a counsel for Dr Duffuor.”
Background of the Case
On July 22, Dr Ayine’s office formally entered a nolle prosequi in the high-profile case involving Dr Kwabena Duffuor and others. The decision, communicated by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, effectively brought the criminal trial to an end. The move was in exchange for recovering approximately 60% of the alleged misappropriated assets.
This has sparked a national debate, with many questioning whether justice was served and if it sets a dangerous precedent.
The original charges included conspiracy to commit a fraudulent breach of trust, fraudulent breach of trust, money laundering, and willfully causing financial loss to the state. These stemmed from the 2018 financial sector cleanup by the Bank of Ghana, which led to the collapse of several local banks, including UniBank, where Dr Duffuor was a key figure.
An audit by the Bank of Ghana found that shareholders and affiliated parties of uniBank had misused around GH¢5.7 billion in liquidity support. However, Dr Ayine says this figure was later revised to GH¢3.3 billion.
Attorney-General’s Justification
During the Government Accountability Series on Monday, July 28, Dr Ayine provided a list of reasons for discontinuing the case:
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GH¢2.1 billion involved no real cash transactions but rather book entries to boost uniBank’s financial appearance.
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GH¢300 million is still under recovery efforts via the Securities and Exchange Commission through UniSecurities.
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The matter has dragged on for over six years, hindering asset recovery.
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Legal complexities could lead to lower asset recoveries due to court delays, legal fees, and asset depreciation.
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Prosecutors believed the defence had a high chance of winning, similar to the Beige Bank case where no assets were recovered.
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No asset-freezing or tracing was done by the previous administration, limiting effective prosecution.
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Dr Ayine claims he rejected a GH¢10 million out-of-court offer from Beige Bank lawyers.
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Full recovery of assets is unrealistic due to depreciation and concealed assets.
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A conviction of Dr Duffuor was uncertain.
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The AG has secured GH¢824 million worth of landed property to be recovered in phases.
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An additional GH¢2.9 billion owed to UniBank by third parties remains unpaid due to prior inaction by the Ministry of Finance.
