Office of the Special Prosecutor drags Admin at Bawumia's office to court for corruption

The individuals who is an Administrator at the Office of the Vice President, James Keck Osei, and Issah Seidu, who works with the National Insurance Commission, as well as John Abban, and Peter Archibold, both Senior Customs Officers, have been sighted in Special Prosecutor corruption case.

The four persons came under scrutiny after the Office of the Special Prosecutor had accused them of failing to declare their income sources.

They were brought before the court on Monday, February 13, 2023, and three of them were granted bail while one of them failed to appear in court.

The Special Prosecutor received a complaint from a businessman who had imported rice into the country. The concern is that another person, the first accused (Issah Seidu), had tried to also clear the same goods.

The Office of the Vice President is reported to have written to the Commissioner of the Customs Division to release bags of rice imported by a businessman who was battling another businessman over ownership of the same goods.

This led the disgruntled businessman to file a complaint at the Office of Special Prosecutor, resulting in charges being filed against an Administrator at the Office of the Vice President, James Keck Osei, and the three others.

The businessman claims the GRA investigated the matter and asked that the goods be released to him.

A statement issued by the Vice President's Secretariat signed by Augustine Blay, the Secretary to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, disclosed that Keck Osei has found himself on the wrong side of the law for illegally writing a letter to the Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority "seeking assistance in clearing 15 containers of rice" imported from Thailand in April 2022.

"Among others, the letter falsely conveyed that the Office [of the Vice President] needed the containers of rice for Ramadan festivities," the Vice President's Secretariat said.

It said the GRA did not comply with Keck Osei's letter but rather informed him that there was another claimant for the rice.

The four persons have been slapped with the charge of failing to comply with a lawful demand of an authorized officer.

The court granted the Administrator at the Office of the Vice President self-recognizance bail, while Issah Seidu and Peter Archibold were granted bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with one surety each.

The other accused person, John Abban, failed to show up in court.