3 Former Government officials jailed for causing financial Loss to the State in NCA’s $4M Scandal
Three Former Government officials namely, Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie,William Matthew Tetteh Tevie and Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, has been sentenced by the Accra High Court to various terms in prison after they were convicted by the court for willfully causing Financial Loss to the state.
Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, a former board chairman of the National Communication Authority (NCA) will serve six years imprisonment for his part played in the $4m NCA scandal and also for personally gaining as much as $ 200,000 from the deal.
Tevie and Osman were Both sentenced to five(5) years in prison for causing Financial Loss to the State.
Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, who Presided over the case on Tuesday May 12 2020 in the Accra High Court, also ordered the State to seize assets of the convicts to the tune of $3 million since the state has only recovered $1 million of the amount.
These 3 former state officials were indulging in acts that led the State to lose the four million Unites states Dollars in a deal to purchase a cyber security surveillance equipment, known as the Pegasus machine, for the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), which was been sponsored by the NCA.
The State said the previous administration had contracted an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, to supply listening equipment at a cost of $6 million to enable the authorities to monitor conversations of persons suspected to be engaged in terror activities.
A local agent, Infraloks Development Limited, also charged $2 million to facilitate the transaction, bringing the total sum to $8 million.
The facts stated that the National Security did not have the money to fund the transaction, and for that reason the NCA, which has supervisory jurisdiction over the use of such equipment, was asked to fund the project.
It said $4 million was withdrawn from the accounts of the NCA and $1 million out of the withdrawn amount deposited into the account of the Israeli company.
According to the State, the remaining $3 million was lodged in the account of Oppong, who acted as a representative of the local agents, Infraloks Development Ltd.
George Derek Oppong, CEO of Infraloks Development Limited, the company that acted as local agent for the Israeli Company, was acquitted and discharged by the court.
The court held that the prosecution could not prove its case against the businessman and also that whatever infractions that occurred during the deal were occasioned by the acts of Baffoe-Bonnie, Tevie and Osman.
By: NK AB
