Selected journalists have been trained on the legal rules and procedures that govern the confiscation of assets belonging to persons suspected of corruption and other financial crimes.

The session, organised by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) in partnership with GIABA, followed an invitation to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) forms part of a broader strategy to engage the media as key partners in promoting transparency and accountability.

Director of Asset Recovery and Management at the OSP, Albert Akurugu, took participants through the Office’s jurisdiction in asset recovery and management.

This included the legal processes for identifying, freezing, and confiscating assets suspected to be linked to corruption.

Albert Akurugu explained the lawful steps the OSP is empowered to take under Ghanaian law.

He clarified that it is not an unlawful act but a legitimate part of investigations—either to gather evidence or to preserve assets believed to be tainted.

He further stressed the vital role journalists play in fighting corruption: “The media must raise public awareness, promote transparency, and hold institutions to account through accurate and responsible reporting.”

The session brought together other state law enforcement bodies, including the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), creating a shared platform for engaging the media on their complementary roles in combating financial crime.

In 2023, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) complied with the ruling and order of the High Court, Accra, dated 31 August 2023, by unfreezing the frozen bank accounts and investments of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

The OSP also returned the seized cash sums of Ms. Dapaah in the presence and assent of Ms. Dapaah and her lawyers.

The satisfaction by the OSP of the order of the High Court terminated the proceedings of the seizure of the cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah commenced on 24 July 2023 and the freezing of her bank accounts and investments effected from 26 July 2023.

The OSP was investigating Ms. Dapaah for suspected corruption and corruption-related offenses involving the ownership and source(s) of large amounts of money associated with her.

This was after the reports emerged that the domestic help of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah, had been dragged to court for allegedly stealing $1 million, 300,000 euros, several million cedis, and personal effects of the former minister and her husband valued at thousands of Ghana cedis and dollars.

Subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considered that he had reasonable grounds to suspect that the cash amounts seized from and returned to Ms. Dapaah were tainted property and it was necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent the concealment or loss of said cash amounts.

Therefore, the Special Prosecutor again invoked his statutory power under section 32(1)(a) of Act 959 by directing the seizure from Ms. Dapaah of the cash amounts previously seized from her. Authorized officers of the OSP have seized said cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah.