Martin Amidu, Special Prosecutor
Special Prosecutor, Martin A.B.K. Amidu, is accusing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) of allegedly leaking his ‘urgent’ letter to the Commissioner-General of the authority to Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga.
The ‘Urgent Letter,’ according to Mr. Amidu, was written to the Commissioner-General of GRA Kofi Nti alone with no other person or entity copied, but it managed to find its way to the NDC MP, who is a person of interest to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The Special Prosecutor said Mr. Ayariga, for reasons known to him, also forwarded the letter with “impunity” to the Executive Director of Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), ACP K.K. Amoah via WhatsApp, a social media platform.
“Hon. Mahama Ayariga was accompanied to the Office of the Special Prosecutor by an investigator from the Economic and Organised Crime Office to be questioned over an urgent letter that was written by this Office to the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Mr. Kofi Nti, which was not copied to any other person or entity,” he said.
The former Attorney General added: “The letter found its way on WhatsApp from the GRA to Hon. Mahama Ayariga, who in turn forwarded the message on WhatsApp with impunity to the Executive Director of the EOCO on 24th December 2018. I was informed about the WhatsApp on 25th December 2018 and was e-mailed a copy on 27th December 2018 after persistently asking for it.
EOCO and the Office of the Special Prosecutor have been investigating Mahama Ayariga for allegedly obstructing investigations and other offences.
Mr. Amidu considers the MP’s action of sending WhatsApp messages to EOCO to be “daring and suspicious.
The Special Prosecutor, in an article he published yesterday, said his office is investigating circumstances under which the letter to the GRA boss was leaked.
According to him, “The investigation is very important for the fight against corruption because a lot of funds have already been lost to the public purse from leakages of actions to be taken by GRA to recover monies from tax evaders.”
He said, “This particular case gave me the opportunity to try and get to the bottom of that canker of corruption. The investigation on the leakage of my letter from the GRA is ongoing in spite of those who claim to have powerful relatives in the government.”
The NDC MP appeared before EOCO on January 4, 2019 but was not questioned over the matter nor was his phone taken as exhibit, a development Mr. Amidu appears not to be happy about.
“He was rather allowed to travel to his constituency without my knowledge as the person directing the investigations. Consequently, I sought the concurrence of the Minister responsible for the GRA to investigate the leak of my letter,” the Special Prosecutor stated in his latest epistle.
Political puppet
Meanwhile, Mr. Amidu has warned his detractors that he will not allow himself to be used by anybody or group of persons for political investigations and prosecutions.
“Let me repeat; nobody can use me or my office for political investigations or prosecutions as long as I remain the Special Prosecutor. Thankfully, this President has kept his promise of giving me a free hand in fulfilling my mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959),” Mr. Amidu added.
The ‘Urgent Letter,’ according to Mr. Amidu, was written to the Commissioner-General of GRA Kofi Nti alone with no other person or entity copied, but it managed to find its way to the NDC MP, who is a person of interest to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The Special Prosecutor said Mr. Ayariga, for reasons known to him, also forwarded the letter with “impunity” to the Executive Director of Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), ACP K.K. Amoah via WhatsApp, a social media platform.
“Hon. Mahama Ayariga was accompanied to the Office of the Special Prosecutor by an investigator from the Economic and Organised Crime Office to be questioned over an urgent letter that was written by this Office to the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Mr. Kofi Nti, which was not copied to any other person or entity,” he said.
The former Attorney General added: “The letter found its way on WhatsApp from the GRA to Hon. Mahama Ayariga, who in turn forwarded the message on WhatsApp with impunity to the Executive Director of the EOCO on 24th December 2018. I was informed about the WhatsApp on 25th December 2018 and was e-mailed a copy on 27th December 2018 after persistently asking for it.
EOCO and the Office of the Special Prosecutor have been investigating Mahama Ayariga for allegedly obstructing investigations and other offences.
Mr. Amidu considers the MP’s action of sending WhatsApp messages to EOCO to be “daring and suspicious.
The Special Prosecutor, in an article he published yesterday, said his office is investigating circumstances under which the letter to the GRA boss was leaked.
According to him, “The investigation is very important for the fight against corruption because a lot of funds have already been lost to the public purse from leakages of actions to be taken by GRA to recover monies from tax evaders.”
He said, “This particular case gave me the opportunity to try and get to the bottom of that canker of corruption. The investigation on the leakage of my letter from the GRA is ongoing in spite of those who claim to have powerful relatives in the government.”
The NDC MP appeared before EOCO on January 4, 2019 but was not questioned over the matter nor was his phone taken as exhibit, a development Mr. Amidu appears not to be happy about.
“He was rather allowed to travel to his constituency without my knowledge as the person directing the investigations. Consequently, I sought the concurrence of the Minister responsible for the GRA to investigate the leak of my letter,” the Special Prosecutor stated in his latest epistle.
Political puppet
Meanwhile, Mr. Amidu has warned his detractors that he will not allow himself to be used by anybody or group of persons for political investigations and prosecutions.
“Let me repeat; nobody can use me or my office for political investigations or prosecutions as long as I remain the Special Prosecutor. Thankfully, this President has kept his promise of giving me a free hand in fulfilling my mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959),” Mr. Amidu added.