Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame is demanding the immediate release of former Capital Bank CEO, William Ato Essien, describing his continued incarceration as unjust in light of recent prosecutorial decisions under the current Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine.
In a Facebook statement issued Monday, Mr. Dame pointed to what he described as a double standard in Dr. Ayine’s handling of high-profile financial crime cases.
He argues that the nolle prosequi entered by Dr. Ayine in favour of individuals involved in similar or larger financial infractions than Ato Essien makes the banker’s ongoing imprisonment “inexcusable.”
“In account of the ‘RESETTING’ of prosecution we are witnessing, there is no justification for Ato Essien to be in jail. Free Ato Essien now!” Mr Dame declared.
He recounted the circumstances that led to Ato Essien’s incarceration, stating that during his own tenure as Attorney-General, the State reached a recovery agreement with the former bank executive under section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459). Ato Essien admitted to owing GHC 27 million, and was required to pay GHC 90 million in total as part of a settlement deal.
Although Essien paid GHC 30 million upfront and later added GHC 9 million, he defaulted on the remainder.
The Attorney-General’s office, under Dame, applied to have him jailed, and the court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, a decision that, according to Dame, reflected the seriousness with which the State then approached financial crime.
However, Dame now contends that the same prosecutorial office, under Dr. Ayine’s leadership, has chosen to drop similar cases involving even larger sums, such as the GHC 2 billion Unibank case, without any clear agreement or demonstrated recovery.
“Why should one man go to jail while others walk free under vague promises of future repayments?” Dame questioned, noting that Ayine’s approach undermines consistency in justice and weakens deterrence in white-collar crime.
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