Gov’t freezes GH¢50m in Wontumi’s accounts amid financial crime probes – Felix Kwakye Ofosu

Felix Kwakye Ofosu has disclosed that nearly GH¢50 million in the accounts of Bernard Antwi-Boasiako has been frozen as part of ongoing investigations into suspected financial crimes.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Kwakye Ofosu explained that the Economic and Organised Crime Office has been taking steps to secure large sums of money linked to various ongoing investigations.

He said that similar amounts have been frozen in other high-profile cases, including investigations involving the former Signals Bureau head, Adu Boahen, and the National Service case.

The spokesperson noted that these asset freezes form part of a wider effort by the state to trace and secure resources suspected to be linked to corruption and financial misconduct. So far, authorities have secured a total of GH¢1.5 billion across multiple cases.

Kwakye Ofosu emphasised that the freezes are temporary measures pending the conclusion of legal proceedings. Assets cannot be permanently recovered until a court determines that they were obtained illegally.

He clarified, “They are not going to be able to recover until the persons involved have been convicted by a court, which then gives the legal authority to recover whatever is alleged to have been stolen.”

The government spokesperson also addressed public confusion over President John Dramani Mahama’s earlier statement about EOCO recovering GH¢600 million. He said that figure relates to routine EOCO investigations covering issues like money laundering, cybercrime, cross-border crime, and carjacking.

However, the ongoing high-profile investigations into suspected corruption and financial crimes involve additional legal processes before any recovery can occur. Authorities continue to trace more assets linked to these cases.

Kwakye Ofosu explained that asset tracing is standard practice in financial crime investigations, allowing the state to secure suspected proceeds before court judgments are delivered.

“The aim is to ensure that suspected proceeds of crime are secured so that as much as possible we safeguard amounts linked to the offences under investigation,” he said.