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The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has revealed that eight suspects in the ongoing National Service Scheme ghost names scandal have approached his office to negotiate a plea deal.
According to Dr Ayine, the suspects including three (3) former officials of the National Service Authority (NSA), through their lawyers, have expressed willingness to cooperate and have been presented with a precondition: the full refund of all misappropriated funds, as well as agreement to serve as state witnesses against other individuals involved in the case.
He announced this development while addressing the media during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, 28th July.
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Dr Ayine disclosed that although his office was initially scheduled to file the case in court last week, the process was delayed following the discovery of new evidence. This included suspicious transactions involving an account at the Bank of Ghana, into which GH¢189 million had been transferred. He noted that GH¢80 million of that amount remains unaccounted for, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the transactions.
Speaking on the suspects' request for plea bargaining, Dr Ayine stated:
I am happy to announce that at least eight suspects in this investigation have approached my office for plea negotiations, including three former officers of the National Service Authority. Some officials have offered to testify against their colleagues, and some vendors and service providers are willing to come clean and testify as prosecution witnesses.
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He continued:
In negotiations with them and their lawyers, the precondition I give is this: return the money we have calculated that you took, and agree to serve as a prosecution witness. That is the approach we are using now. I am sure the NPP would be very pleased to hear that 100% of the money must be returned to the Attorney General before any deal can be reached.
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Dr Ayine further disclosed that his office expects to receive investigative reports in the coming weeks on other high-profile cases, including the mathematical sets procurement and the All-Africa Games scandal, in order to proceed with filing charges.
He also revealed that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has completed investigations involving Bernard Antwi Boasiako (popularly known as Chairman Wontumi) and the former CEO of the National Buffer Stock Company, Mr Abdul-Wahab Hannan, along with their alleged accomplices.