The High Court in Accra will on April 16, deliver its judgement in the trial of former CEO of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC, Sedinam Tamakloe Attionu and a former Operations Manager of the Centre, Daniel Axim.
The two are facing 78 charges of conspiracy, willfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, causing loss to public property, among others. Madam Tamakloe Attionu has since October 2021 failed to be present for the trial following an approval by the court to travel out of the country for medical check up.
The court accordingly declared her absconded and further ruled that her trial would be done in absence.
Following that decision, the Court ordered the two sureties of Madam Tamakloe Attionu, a former CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Alex Mould and actor, Gavivina Tamakloe to pay the five million Cedis bail bond to the state for failing to produce the accused person.
Prior to that, the court had on several occasions granted the sureties time to produce Madam Tamakloe Attionu. The sureties however informed the court that they had exhausted all efforts within their means but have been unsuccessful at producing the accused person.
The state called four witnesses to prove its case against the accused persons. Daniel Axim denied allegations of conspiring with the former CEO of MASLOC to steal monies belonging to the Centre.
In his defence he said as Head of Operations he received instructions from Madam Tamakloe Attionu to prepare a memo for the release of funds to support her sensitization programs across the country. He said per the custom of MASLOC, staff were to comply with instructions from the CEO who is politically assigned or risk being dismissed.
Mr Axim said being a public officer he complied with the orders of the CEO often approved by the Board of Governors to draft memos for the release of the said monies. He admitted collecting the monies stated in the charge sheet from the Head of Finance but gave the same to Madam Tamakloe Attionu on her instructions. Barring any changes the High Court will deliver its judgement and the fate of the two accused persons will be known.
