OSP charges Cecilia Dapaah over refusal to declare assets, cash

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has charged former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah for refusing to comply with a directive from the office to declare her assets and money.

Cecilia Dapaah is being investigated by the OSP following huge sums of foreign and local currencies found at her home during a search and others found in her bank accounts.

According to the OSP, Cecilia Dapaah who is being investigated for corruption-related offences, among others, has refused to furnish the OSP with documents given her to declare her property and income since July 24, 2023.

The OSP has thus charged the former minister with one count of failing to comply with a lawful demand of an authorised officer of the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the performance of his functions, contrary to section 69(1)(a) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).

Below are portions of the charge sheet filed by the OSP and sighted by Citi News:

“The accused was, until 22 July 2023, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources. She is a suspect under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for corruption and corruption-related offences including using public office for profit in respect of suspected tainted large cash sums reportedly stolen from her residential premises and also retrieved from same by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.”

“The evidence will establish that on 24 July 2023, the Special Prosecutor, in the performance of his functions, served on the accused a notice to declare her property and income under regulation 20(1) per Forms 11A and 11B of the First Schedule of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374).”

“The Accused was duly notified as per the statutory forms and by a cover letter under the seal of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the seal and mark of the Special Prosecutor, that she was required by law to make the specified declarations and return same to the Office of the Special Prosecutor as per Form 12 of the First Schedule of L.I. 2374, within thirty (30) days of service on her of the notice.”

As at the close of business on 5 October 2023, the accused had wilfully failed, without lawful excuse, to return the duly completed statutory forms to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, more than thirty (30) days after the service of the notice and forms on her.”