The Office of the Special Prosecutor has described the decision by an Accra High Court to quash adverse findings against former commissioner for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Col. Kwadwo Damoah (rtd), and his deputy, Joseph Adu Kyei, as extremely inimical to the fight against corruption and the administration of justice.
The court, apart from quashing the adverse findings against the two, also prohibited the OSP from further investigating Col. Damoah (Rtd) and Joseph Adu-Kyei in respect of the adverse findings.
The Court, presided over by Justice William Boampong on Monday, said the OSP acted in excess of its mandate and also constituted itself into a court or a commission of inquiry in arriving at the findings in the matter.
On August 3, 2022, the office of the special prosecutor released a report on its investigations into alleged corruption and corruption-related offences involving the Labianca Group of Companies and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The OSP’s report, among other things, implicated officials of Labianca and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority for their various roles, which saw the company that deals in the importation of frozen foods benefit from a reduction in the company’s tax liabilities.
One of the names mentioned by the OSP is Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), who was then the Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA. The OSP’s investigations also found that a Deputy Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA, Joseph Adu Kyei, issued an unlawful customs advance ruling for importation made by Labianca.
The ruling was said to have been approved by Colonel Damoah (Rtd) and did not appear to have been brought to the attention of the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Colonel Damoah fought back, accusing the OSP of targeting his person in an attempt to bring him down. He intimated that the report was hollow and actuated by malice.
The Commissioner and his Deputy, feeling dissatisfied, asked the High Court to quash the adverse findings made against them by the OSP through a judicial review.
The court, on Monday, November 27, 2023, granted the prayers of the two, quashed the adverse findings made against them by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, and awarded a cost of GH10,000 against the OSP.
But the OSP has been fighting back. In a statement, it insists it acted within its mandate.
The Special Prosecutor said it rejects the decision of the court in its entirety, and in arriving at the findings of the matter, the OSP did not constitute itself into a court or a Commission of Enquiry.
The findings, the OSP says, were based on investigations carried out by its office, which is mandated by law to publish detected acts of corruption, and its publication of the investigation report is in accordance with its statutory mandate,” the OSP says.
The statement by the OSP further indicated that “the decision of the court is extremely inimical to the fight against corruption and the administration of justice for a court to prohibit investigations, and it will not permit this decision to stand.
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