By William
Yaw Owusu
Friday August
17, 2018
Information reaching
DAILY
GUIDE indicates that the Economic and Organized Crime Organization
(EOCO) has impounded three vehicles said to belong to opposition National
Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga.
The three vehicles,
all Toyota Land Cruiser V8s, are said to be the subject of ongoing
investigations into the circumstances that led to their importation into the
country by the MP who is said to have breached tax rules.
Financial Loss
Mahama Ayariga is
alleged to have imported a number of expensive cars into the country without
paying appropriate taxes leading to investigations over the possibility of
causing financial loss to the state through tax evasion.
It is emerging that the
Special Prosecutor, Martin Alamisi Amidu said Mahama Ayariga has been sending
influential personalities to beg him not to prosecute him in respect of these
vehicles.
It is expected that
after the EOCO investigations, the Office of the Special Prosecutor, will
proceed to court to charge the suspect if the anti graft body is able to
establish a case against the Bawku Central MP.
No Comment
EOCO officials were
tight-lipped about the issue when DAILY GUIDE contacted them yesterday
although there was confirmation that the three expensive cars had been seized.
The former Attorney-General
said recently that Mahama Ayariga, whom he described as ‘suspect,’ is using
influential personalities like chiefs, pastors (Men of God), personal friends,
and former colleagues, among others, to persuade him (Amidu) to drop the
criminal investigations against him.
Mr Amidu then filed
a complaint before the EOCO against the former Minister of Environment under
the previous Mahama administration who is always loud on radio but appears to
have gone silent of late, for the alleged interference in the investigations.
Vehicle Importation
“The preliminary
investigations pertained to the importation into Ghana through corrupt means
and corruption-related activities of three used white Toyota Land Cruiser V8
vehicles by using a Parliamentary Resolution dated 7th April 2017 contracting a
facility of $22,500,000 between the Parliamentary Service and the Societe
Generale Bank, Ghana, which was for the purchase of one brand new official vehicle
for each of the 275 Members of Parliament,” Mr Amidu had said in a statement to
EOCO.
EOCO Notice
In June, the EOCO
issued a public notice to owners/drivers of vehicles with registration GR
2220-18, GR 2221-18, GR 2222-18, all Land Cruisers, as well as GR 2243-17, Toyota Camry and GT 4054 Nissan,
to report to the anti-graft body on June 20 at 11 am.
It later became clear
that the listed vehicles were the same as the subject-matter of Martin Amidu’s
investigation.
Mr. Amidu, in the
letter to the EOCO, said that when Mahama Ayariga came in the knowledge that he
was under probe through a letter to the Speaker of Parliament asking for his
release, he resorted to using influential persons to come and beg him (Amidu)
to back down on the probe.
“The suspect refused
to report to the offices of EOCO in Accra as demanded by a publication on page
26 of the Daily Graphic of 20th June, 2018 with vehicle numbers GR 2220-18, GR
2221-18, GR 2222-18, GT 2243-17 and GT 4054-13, consequently it fell on me to
write to the Speaker of Parliament with a copy to Honourable Mahama Ayariga
(the suspect) in my letter dated 26th June 2018 to release the suspect to
report to the EOCO on 3rd July, 2018,” the Special Prosecutor said.
Speaker’s Attention
“When the suspect, Honourable
Mahama Ayariga received his copy of my letter to the Speaker, he immediately
started to get people who he perceived could put pressure on me such as
personal friends, former colleagues, chiefs, men of God, etc. to abate the
investigation being conducted in the performance of my functions under Acts 959
and Act 804,” he added.
Mr Amidu further
added that despite cautions through EOCO to Mahama Ayariga to refrain from
trying to obstruct investigations, Ayariga persisted with getting people close
to him (Amidu) to get the inquiry abated.
Mr. Amidu said on
August 3, 2018, he officially reported the matter to the EOCO and asked it to
investigate the complaint of obstruction by Mahama Ayariga to the
investigation.
“I asked the EOCO on
a number of occasions to warn the suspect to desist from his conduct of
obstructing the investigation by soliciting others to put pressure on me to
abate same to no avail. I have accordingly, on 3rd August 2018, requested the
EOCO to investigate my complaint against the suspect for obstructing me, the
Special Prosecutor, in the performance of the functions of my office as the
Special Prosecutor,” the statement said.
Mr Amidu cautioned
the so-called influential personalities who are in the habit of interceding on
behalf of suspects to desist from the act and said he will not tolerate “any
interference or obstruction from anybody or organ of Government other than the
courts of law in the performance of the independent functions of my office even
if the culprit were my only brother.”
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