The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng says all members of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), are subjects of the ongoing investigations into corruption and corruption-related offences relative to galamsey.
According to Mr. Agyebeng, the committee has long been under investigations by the OSP following accusations and counter accusations of suspected corruption.
Mr. Kissi Agyebeng was guest of Newsfile on Joy FM, hosted by Samson Lardy Anyenini on Saturday, June 10.
“The president establishes an Inter-ministerial committee, later on the president dissolves it and there are all manner of allegations against this committee; this dissolved committee, we are already doing our investigations in respect of corruption and corruption related matters regarding galamsey and then an aspect of it was the way this committee was handled and the problems associated with this committee.
“Once again, every person who was an officer of this committee is my target because of the allegations against this committee,” he said.
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Mr. Kissi Agyebeng explained that his office was acting within its mandate to investigate corruption, therefore each time allegations of corruption surface, he will go all out to ensure that justice prevails.
He stressed that his office will ensure it operates without any biases but treat persons coming before it equally.
Responding to concerns that the OSP could have treated Prof Frimpong-Boateng as an informant rather than a suspect, Mr. Agyebeng disagreed, saying the former chairman of the IMCIM is central to the corruption probe.
“You do not cloak yourself with immunity as far as I am concerned because someone puts out a report, that report comes to my attention, it is part of my investigation but merely because someone put out a report does not mean the person is then insulated from the process of the investigation,” he told host, Samson Lardy Anyenini.
The Office of Special Prosecutor has been in the news lately after Professor Frimpong-Boateng, opened up about events following his invitation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Also, a former Presidential staffer, Charles Bissue, who sought orders of the High Court to stop the OSP from investigating him over suspected corruption and corruption-related offences involving a public officer.
Consequently, the OSP secured an order from the court to arrest the former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
This order was secured after Charles Bissue failed to honour an invitation by the Special Prosecutor last month.
Background
The OSP, in December last year, announced that it was investigating indigenous mining firm, Akonta Mining Limited, Mr Bissue, some officials of the Lands Commission, Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, some mining entities, individuals and political party officials over suspected corruption relating to illegal mining.
A statement signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, and issued in Accra on December 10 last year, said Mr Bissue was already being investigated on allegations that he used his office for private gain.
“The investigation includes the active and ongoing enquiry into allegations of use of public office for profit against Charles Bissue during his tenure as Secretary to the IMCIM, arising from an investigative documentary titled ‘Galamsey Fraud Part I’ published by Tiger Eye P.I.,” the statement said.
But Mr. Bissue has refuted all allegations made in the documentary against him.
“As I have said countless times that money was not a bribe and I did not make any demands whatsoever from any operative or beneficiary of illegal mining while I served on the IMCIM,” he said in a recent statement.
Subsequently, in July 2019, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service exonerated Mr Bissue from any wrongdoing or allegation of corruption.
The CID concluded that the documentary which was aired was not a true reflection of what transpired between Mr. Bissue and one Yaw Ben of ORR Resource Enterprise.
“The CID investigations primarily relied on the documentary and other sources, as already indicated, but the lead investigator of the Tiger Eye documentary, Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas, failed to avail himself to assist in investigations and also failed to provide a copy of the unedited version of the documentary,” the CID report said.
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