EOCO Chases More Woyome Accounts

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 13:13

Written by ghanapolitics.net

THE ECONOMIC and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is freezing more accounts of Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) self-acclaimed financier at the centre of the GH¢51.2 million judgment debt scandal.

Mr. Woyome, who has been saddled with a criminal case over the matter, already has one of his accounts at the Agricultural Development Bank frozen by EOCO after it obtained an order from the court on January 19, 2012.

Yesterday, an attorney from EOCO, Diana Adu Anane, moved a motion at an Accra Fast Track High Court (Financial Division) presided over by Justice Bright Mensah for a review of the said order to freeze more of his accounts and financial assets discovered so far.

According to the attorney, during their investigations, it came out that Mr. Woyome, apart from his account at ADB, had other accounts at different banks as well as financial assets and therefore would need the order to freeze them also.

Woyome's lawyer however objected to this strongly on the grounds that the procedure under which the attorney had filed the motion could only be used in civil matters and not in criminal cases.

The judge, following the submissions, has adjourned the matter to March 8, 2012 for ruling.

On Monday February 13, attempts by Mr. Woyome to stop EOCO from further investigating him and also freezing his accounts failed as an Accra Fast Track High Court dismissed his application on grounds that there was nothing to restrain EOCO from doing because it had already completed the investigations and submitted a report to the President.

The judge, Justice Ofori Atta, who observed that the report had been the basis for Woyome's prosecution at another court, stated that he could not stop the High Court from trying Woyome once it had already started.

Woyome's application was for an interlocutory injunction to restrain EOCO and its agents, assigns, workmen, and anybody or any group of persons or person from carrying out investigations relating to the payment of the judgment debt.

In his application, Mr. Woyome challenged the mandate of EOCO to investigate the matter and also freeze his bank accounts.

He argued that EOCO had no powers to investigate the judgment of a court but for a superior court, describing the grounds under which the investigations were being conducted as 'null and void'.

According to Mr. Woyome, once a court of competent jurisdiction had determined the matter and its merits and had given a judgment, no other organization could open up the case again except a superior court.

In the criminal case, Mr. Woyome and three alleged accomplices including two top state lawyers are before an Accra Fast High Court on fraud charges.

The alleged accomplices are Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, the Chief State Attorney who allegedly refused to put up a defence against Woyome in court and was reportedly bribed for his role; Paul Asimenu, Legal Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning who purportedly quoted wrong figures that paved way for Woyome to access the money; and Mrs. Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, wife of the chief state attorney into whose account the alleged GH¢400,000 bribe was paid.

They have since been granted bail.
By Mary Anane

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