By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
An Administrator at the Office of the Vice President, one James Keck Osei, and Issah Seidu, who works with the National Insurance Commission, as well as John Abban, and Peter Archibold, both Senior Customs Officers have been sighted in Special Prosecutor corruption case.
The four persons came under scrutiny after the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) received a complaint from a businessman who had imported rice into the country. The concern is that another person, the first accused (Issah Seidu), had tried to also clear the same goods.
The Office of the Vice President is said to have written to the Commissioner of the Customs Division to release bags of rice imported by a businessman who was battling another businessman over ownership of the same goods.
This led the disgruntled businessman to file a complaint at the Office of Special Prosecutor, resulting in charges being filed against an Administrator at the Office of the Vice President, James Keck Osei, and the three others.
The businessman claims the GRA investigated the matter and asked that the goods be released to him.
“One deputy commissioner was asked to look into the issue and report back, and her findings were that the documents presented by Mr. Issah Seidu were fake and the petitioner was the owner of the goods and should be allowed to clear them. Instructions were given for the release of the goods to the petitioner.
On hearing this, Mr. Seidu rushed to the court to file a civil suit against the petitioner and GRA,” Prosecutor at the Office of Special Prosecutor, Mr. Emmanuel Basintele told the court on Monday, February 13, 2023.
Mr. Basintele explained further that Mr. Seidu thereafter sought to injunct the GRA from releasing the goods to the petitioner.
He continued that the petitioner then came across documents from the Office of the Vice President.
“It was at this point that the petitioner said he has come across documents from the office of the Vice President addressed to the commissioner of customs to release the goods imported by the petitioner to Mr. Seidu because the office of the vice president wanted to use the rice for Ramadan.
The petitioner has no relationship with the OSP. He is just a Ghanaian who wants to prevent corrupt officials from unlawfully taking his goods from him,” Mr. Basintele said.
It emerged that the Office of the Special Prosecutor while investigating the matter gave Mr. Keck Osei and the three other individuals a form to fill out indicating their income and the properties they own. They failed to do so, resulting in charges being filed against them.
The four persons have been slapped with the charge of failing to comply with a lawful demand of an authorised officer.
The court granted the Administrator at the Office of the Vice President self-recognisance bail, while Issah Seidu and Peter Archibold were granted bail in the sum of 10,000 cedis with one surety each.
The other accused person, John Abban, failed to show up in court.