Covid-19 caused Sky Train investment loss, not wrongdoing, defence argue
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The two former officials are asking the High Court to stop the trial against them, insisting that the Attorney-General’s evidence does not justify calling them to open their defence.
The failed recovery of a $2 million investment in the proposed Sky Train project has been blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic by lawyers for former Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund officials Solomon Asamoah and Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi.
The two former officials are asking the High Court to stop the trial against them, insisting that the Attorney-General’s evidence does not justify calling them to open their defence.
Mr Asamoah, a former Chief Executive Officer of GIIF, and Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi, a former Board Chairman, are facing charges over an alleged financial loss to the state.
The case concerns the release of $2 million for the Sky Train project, which prosecutors say was done without approval from the GIIF Board.
But in their submission of no case, the defence argues that the central issue is not criminality.
They say the investment failed because the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted projects, businesses and investment arrangements across the world.
According to the lawyers, the prosecution has not shown that the two accused persons acted dishonestly or unlawfully in a manner that caused the alleged loss.
They are therefore asking the court to dismiss the charges and bring the proceedings to an end.
The application was filed after the Attorney-General closed its case against the two former officials.
The prosecution called three witnesses during the trial.
They included former GIIF Board member Yaw Odame-Darkwa, acting GIIF Board Secretary Kofi Boakye, and National Intelligence Bureau officer Francis Aboagye, who led investigations into the matter.
Their evidence was that the GIIF Board did not approve the Sky Train project for which the funds were allegedly disbursed.
The defence, however, maintains that even if the prosecution’s evidence is taken at its highest, it does not establish the offences charged.
They argue that the court should not require the accused persons to answer a case that has not been properly made out.
The matter is before Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay.
The court will decide whether the prosecution has established a case for Mr Asamoah and Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi to answer.
If the submission succeeds, the two will be discharged without being required to mount a defence.
If it fails, they will be called upon to open their defence.
