Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, says where necessary, he will place a higher value on recovering stolen state resources than securing convictions, especially when prosecution proves complex.
Speaking at the Government’s Accountability Series on Monday, 28th July, Dr Ayine explained that while convicting corrupt officials remains important, retrieving public funds must take precedence when a conviction is difficult to secure.
“Make no mistake about my intentions. I want to jail persons who have looted state resources,” he said. “But at the same time, I am pragmatic enough to know that it is not in every instance that that is possible.”
He reiterated that when prosecution may not lead to a conviction, it is more responsible to prioritise recovering assets over pursuing criminal charges that could end in acquittal.
“In those circumstances, I will opt for non-conviction-based asset recovery,” he stressed again.
Commenting specifically on the recent decision to drop the criminal case against former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor and seven others, Dr Ayine strongly defended the move, stating that his office successfully recovered 60 percent of the misappropriated funds in that matter.
He argued that opting for a settlement in this case was a pragmatic and strategic choice that avoided the risk of losing all state funds involved.
“Recovering a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was more prudent than risking a total loss,” he said.
Read also: Duffuor Case: AG defends withdrawal, says partial recovery better than nothing
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