Opuni’s assets frozen; EOCO probes his tenure at COCOBOD

Immediate past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, has had his assets including his accounts, frozen by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), according to sources at the presidency.

Although reasons for the seizure have not been officially communicated, the sources say that EOCO is seeking to investigate the entire period that Dr. Opuni served as CEO of that critical state agency.

Specifically, government intends to probe some supposed fraudulent multi-million dollar contracts he’s believed to have signed before leaving office, the sources indicated. It is also unclear for now; whether EOCO may have carried out this action based on a court order.

Mr. Opuni’s tenure was engrossed in several allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the cocoa sector, with his critics accusing him of running down the critical sector; which generates revenue for the country and employs millions of Ghanaians.

Dr. Opuni was on January 12, 2017, asked to leave office  barely a week after the new NPP government was inaugurated.

As a former CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Dr. Stephen K. Opuni was appointed by former President John Mahama on November 30, 2013, to head the COCOBOD.

He replaced Anthony Fofie, who headed COCOBOD from 2009