Skip to main content

Stop running commentary on our investigations - A-G warns EOCO

Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo
Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, the Attorney-General has asked the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to open itself to the public but to avoid running commentary on its investigations.

According to her speaking in public about their investigations could only frustrates their efforts as well as give out too much information to criminals to change their mode of operations.

“Criminals are always waiting to cover their tracks and therefore coming out to speak constantly about a matter, makes it easier for them to cover up and therefore frustrating the outcome of the investigations,” she stressed.

She advised that the statutory body should avoid following rumours and suspicions so as not to not embarrass themselves.

Ms Akuffo said this at EOCO’s maiden national stakeholders’ forum in Accra aimed at interacting with stakeholders and share information on cases investigated, prosecutions and convictions obtained as well as recoveries and confiscations made.

The forum formed part of EOCO’s efforts to deepen stakeholders’ understanding of its operations and to provide the opportunity for constructive review and evaluation of the institution since its inception.

It was under the theme, “Combating Organised Crime in Ghana: A shared Responsibility” and was sponsored by the EU-funded Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP), in partnership with the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

The Attorney-General announced that the Witness protection Act made provision for vulnerable witnesses to be taken outside the country for protection, even if it meant changing the appearance of the person a little for the sake of protection.

She said organized crime has become a social canker, which needed to be dealt with and at the same time “holding our democracy high” and urged Ghanaians to collaborate with investigators to enable them to be part of problem solving.

Ms Akuffo also solicited the support of the media in the fight against organised crime and corruption.

COP Frank Adu-Poku (Rtd), the Executive Director for EOCO, said from 20 14 to March 2019, the outfit recovered GHC99, 165,369.29 being proceeds of crime.

He said ”These are resources which otherwise could have been dissipated and lost to the State”.

He announced that during the same period a total of 1,855 cases have been investigated among which included tax fraud, personation, defrauding by false pretences, money laundering, prohibited cyber activities, bank fraud, payroll fraud and human trafficking.

COP Adu-Poku (Rtd) noted that majority of cases were on prohibited cyber activity including romance scams where many of the youth engaged their foreign victims online and succeed in ripping them off of huge sums of money usually in foreign currencies.

The event was attended by the representatives of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Transparency International, Institute of Economic Affairs, STAR Ghana, CHRAJ, NCCE, PIAC, Office of the Special Prosecutor, Ghana Police Service, Financial Intelligence Centre, Bank of Ghana, Ghana Immigration Service and Food and Drugs Authority, among others.
Source: ghananewsagency.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Invest your profits back into farming - COCOBOD boss to Cocoa Farmers

Joseph Boahen Aidoo is Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has charged cocoa farmers to be business minded in operating their farms and to partake fully in the various programmes introduced by COCOBOD to ensure good farm yields and to increase profits. "Good farming practices, like pruning, the timely application of fertilizers and proper pests control are essential at all times," he said. Joseph Boahen Aidoo stated this while interacting with farmers in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions, on the first day of his week-long tour of cocoa farms across the county. He was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Executive of Operations at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Opoku, as well, as Directors and Research Scientists from COCOBOD. The tour is aimed at assessing the level of farmer participation in the various farm productivity improvement programmes implemented by COCOBOD; it is also...
Post a Comment
Read more

Atwima Nwabiagya North NPP:Assibey warned over premature campaign

A group in the ruling party calling itself G rass   root campaigners of NPP  in the  A twima  N wabiagya  N orth  Constituenc y has drawn the  attention  of the National, Regional and Constituency executives  to warn  the 2012 independent Parliamentary candidate  Lawyer Di cks on Osei Assibey to desist from campaigning and declaring his intentions to be the parliamentary candidate of Atwima Nwabiagya North Constituency in 2024  on the ticket of the NPP . According to the group, Lawyer Dickson Osei Assibey    on Saturday 1 st   May , 2021   me t  more than 85 Polling station executives and party faithfuls  to lunch his bid to contest for parliamentary primaries in 2023. This  was organized by the two Electoral Area coordinators in the area . In a letter signed by the President of the Grass root Campaigners Marfo Kwabena Sakyi , it said  campaigning for parliamentary candidate position can ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Police Stops NABCO Trainees from Hitting the Street on May 10

NABCO Trainees The Executive Body of the Coalition of NABCO Trainees has expressed gross despondency and disappointment in the Greater Accra Regional Police command for a deliberate action to retard their scheduled demonstration and to frustrate the leadership of the Coalition to give up on this genuine course. The Coalition explicitly state that the Command's position in a letter served to the Coalition dated 7th May 2019 requesting further extension of the scheduled date for the demonstration on Friday, 10th May and request for Renotification on account of noncompliance of section1(1) of the Public Order Act 1994 (which States that any person who desire to hold any special event in the public place to notify the police not less than 5days before the event) is deliberate action to withhold the planned demonstration. We will solidly state that there was a consensus Ad Idem and settlement between the command and coalition which resulted in rescheduling the date from Wedne...
Post a Comment
Read more