Former Auditor General Daniel Domelevo has expressed dismay over remarks by Council of State member Sam Okudzeto, who defended the practice of keeping large sums of money at home.
Okudzeto, also a former president of the Ghana Bar Association, supported ex-Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah amidst controversy regarding the discovery of millions in her residence.
In a TV3 interview, he stated that Cecilia Dapaah is not required to explain the origins of the money found.
Okudzeto also criticized some Ghanaians for what he views as insincere criticisms of Dapaah concerning the funds discovered at her home.
The private legal practitioner quizzed, “If you come and you find money with me, do I owe you any duty to explain to you to whose money when nobody has complained that I have stolen his money?
“You Ghanaians are not honest people, the number of people, all these huge buildings that they are building, who has asked them where they got the money from, nobody does.
“So you just pick on one individual and you want to make it as if she was just an extraordinary rogue who has stolen money when you don’t even have any evidence that she has stolen money.”
But speaking to Raymond Acquah on Joy News’ Upfront on Wednesday, the former Auditor General insists keeping that amount of money at home is questionable.
“I find it unfortunate…my position will not be based on law, but at least being a public figure and a leader in government talking about ensuring that we all use the financial sector, keeping that amount of money in the house may not be legally wrong, but I think it is questionable,” he said.
Background
Last week, the Center for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana) registered its dismay over the latest development in Cecilia Dapaah’s case.
This was after the Office of the Attorney-General had, in a letter addressed to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), advised it not to investigate suspected money laundering in connection with certain monies found at the private residences of Mrs Cecilia Dapaah.
But in a statement, the Center said it was hard to believe that, after over eight months of investigation following the alleged theft of $1 million and €300,000 cash from the home of Mrs Dapaah, the subsequent discovery of another $590,000 and GH¢2,730,000 in cash by the OSP in Madam Dapaah’s properties, not to mention the huge balances held in investment and bank accounts, Ghanaians could not get a simple satisfactory answer from any public agency as to the source of these monies.
The statement said the fact that these monies, at least in the aggregate, apparently exceed the former Minister’s known or verifiable income should raise legitimate questions or reasonable suspicion or doubt as to their source.
It said continuing to investigate this matter to establish the source of the money, therefore, eminently justifiable under the circumstances.