Kofi Akpaloo, the Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), has quizzed the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on when they will be taking him to court over alleged financial crimes.
According to Kofi Akpaloo, a year after his arrest and release, he has not heard from EOCO again regarding the matter, claiming that his arrest was politically motivated and designed to silence him.
Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, when asked about the status of the case, he stated, “Unless you ask EOCO. I have not heard from them again since I was granted bail. My arrest was purely politics. My arrest was orchestrated to intimidate and harass me. They are going after people they perceive to have an affiliation with the NPP. There is no criminality anywhere. They want to silence me.”
He further stated, “I have not committed any crime. I am the one rather owed by the government. I have worked for the country, and they have refused to pay me. I have worked, and I have not been paid. But they arrested me, claiming that I had engaged in fraudulent activities. They did that to disgrace me, tarnish my image, and impugn my integrity. But I want to assure them that nothing will happen to me. I want you to ask EOCO when they will take me to court. They should show which law they used in arresting me”.
When probed on whether he was informed of the official reasons for his detention, he added, “I want you to be the one to ask EOCO that question and demand reasons why they have not brought me before any competent court of jurisdiction. I don’t want to say anything to sound biased, and so please ask them. I believe they abused their office, but please demand from them why they are arresting people without taking them to court.”
Meanwhile, Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has announced that Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and others will be charged with stealing, forgery and money laundering.
According to the Attorney General, Kofi Akpaloo, the alleged misconduct stemmed from an alleged financial impropriety involving a COCOBOD feeder roads contract.
Speaking to the media in Accra on Monday, December 22, the Attorney General detailed, “In the case involving Mr Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) flagged and filed a suspicious transaction report with First Bank Ghana regarding transactions on an account belonging to Pomaah Universal (Gh) Ltd.
Following the STR by the FIC, EOCO began an investigation into the matter. The investigations revealed that Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd, a business entity owned entirely by Akua Pomaa, was the legitimate contractor that was awarded a COCOBOD feeder road contract.
The contract, valued at over Ghs29.5 million, was awarded in December 2020. Although the project commenced and an initial payment was properly deposited into Pomaa Universal Limited’s account, subsequent payments raised serious concerns regarding misrepresentation, forgery, and unauthorised handling of cheques.
Investigations revealed that Akpaloo secretly incorporated a separate company, Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd, deliberately designed to closely resemble Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd, differing only by the addition of an ‘h’”.
He further detailed, “Between December 2022 and June 2024, Akpaloo collected eight cheques issued by COCOBOD in the name of Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd, totalling Ghs3,169,432.22, and deposited them into the account of his own company at First Bank Ghana.
Again, investigations confirmed that Akua Pomaa was unaware of the existence of Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd and the diversion of funds until COCOBOD contacted her in June 2024 regarding outstanding balances on the contract.
She subsequently discovered that Akpaloo had collected and misdirected the payments without her consent. Akua Pomaa also alleged that Akpaloo forged her signature on the COCOBOD contract using her former name, Mercy Owusu, to secure the agreement without her authorisation”.
The Attorney General continued, “First Bank Ghana’s internal investigations corroborated the fraud allegations, concluding that Akpaloo knowingly misrepresented ownership of the cheques and deposited them into the wrong account.
The bank acknowledged operational failures in detecting discrepancies between the cheque payee names and the account numbers.
The suspects who have been investigated are Percival Kofi Akpaloo, Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd, and Delvine Akpaloo, the spouse of Percival Kofi Akpaloo.
The evidence shows that they engaged in various criminal offences, including stealing, forgery and money laundering and will be charged in January”.
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