The Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Sammy Darko, has given indications that prosecution of cases involving former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta will soon commence.
According to him, there is no bad blood between the Office of the Attorney-General and the OSP.
He posted this statement on Facebook on October 20 in reaction to media reports.
“There is no bad blood between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Attorney-General (AG), nor is there any contention over the case docket. The issue at hand is primarily one of timing. The OSP is nearing completion of its work on some of the cases involving Mr. Kenneth Ofori-Atta and will, in due course, submit the necessary information required to complete the extradition process to the AG,” he explained.
The post comes amid concerns over delay in the prosecution of Mr Ofori-Atta after the Special Prosecutor has threatened that if the latter failed to return to Ghana, his extradition will be forced.
“The OSP has been focused on finalising these investigations, as it also intends to file charges in several related cases involving Mr. Ofori-Atta and other individuals. It is understandable that the AG may be under public pressure, particularly regarding progress on the ORAL matter, and that there is widespread interest in seeing Mr. Ofori-Atta brought to trial.
However, just as the AG has often reminded the public—especially supporters of the NDC—that investigations and prosecutions take time, the same understanding should be extended to the OSP. The OSP operates as an independent prosecutorial body with investigative powers and a specific, limited jurisdiction over certain corruption and corruption-related offences, which Mr. Ofori-Atta is alleged to have breached,” Sammy Darko further explained.
He assured that very soon the extradition processes for Mr Ofori-Atta will be finalsed.
“I am aware that the Special Prosecutor is expected to complete and transmit the necessary information to the AG this week to facilitate the extradition process,” he disclosed.
Mr Darko expressed concern that some of the OSP’s correspondence with the A-G’s office have been leaked.
“What is of concern, however, is the partial leakage of information, which poses potential risks to OSP officers mentioned in the report and may create unfounded perceptions of political bias or interference in the ongoing extradition proceedings.
Certainly, the leak could not have originated from the OSP. The Office would never compromise the safety of its officers or jeopardise a case it has pursued diligently since February—despite criticism from those who thought it was being unreasonable or inconsiderate when it maintained that Mr. Ofori-Atta was unwilling to return, and despite being ridiculed for stating that it could not place him on an Interpol Red Notice,” the Director of Strategy indicated.
He used the opportunity to provide further information on actions taken by the OSP on the Ken Ofori-Atta case so far.
“For the record, since the correspondence was leaked, it is important to note that one crucial document was not part of the leak. On 2 June, the OSP wrote to the political authority seeking the government’s position on the extradition matter.
On 3 June, the Chief of Staff wrote to the Attorney-General (AG), directing cooperation with the OSP’s request to initiate the extradition of Mr. Kenneth Ofori-Atta. On 13 June, the AG wrote to the OSP, requesting the names of OSP officers who would handle the extradition process, as well as a case docket.
On 20 June, the OSP responded with the names of its designated officers and explained that it was in the process of finalising the cases. The Office noted that it had conducted searches and seized servers, computers, and documents from SML, which were being analysed for evidential value and would be incorporated into an investigative report for submission to the AG to aid in completing the extradition documentation,” he elaborated.
Mr Darko added, “In September, the AG again wrote to the OSP to request an update on progress and inquired whether the Office could provide even a preliminary investigative report in the absence of a completed docket. This is the letter which was not LEAKED, I don’t know why?
This particular correspondence was never leaked. As previously stated, the OSP is finalising the investigative report and will soon transmit it to the AG.”
He acknowledged the occurrence of a lull in the prosecution of Mr Ofori-Atta, but said it does not amount to a delay.
“Therefore, it is between September and October that there has been a brief gap — one the OSP is currently working to fill by completing and transmitting the final investigative report to the Attorney-General. That is not a delay or unwillingness. its finishing the work,” Mr Darko wrote.
