Chief State Attorney of the Office of the Attorney-General, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh has been disbarred from practicing law by the General Legal Council (GLC) for receiving GH¢400,000 from businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome in 2011.
Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh was disbarred, which means he will never be able to practice law again in Ghana, after the GLC’s Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of professional misconduct under Rule 2(2) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 (L.I. 613).
In a letter dated January 31, 2024, the GLC stated that while representing the state against a complaint by Woyome in 2011, Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh personally caused the direct transfer of an amount of GH¢400,000 from Mr. Woyome to his wife’s bank account.
Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh was unable to explain why Mr. Woyome transferred GH¢400,000 to his wife’s bank account.
According to the GLC, Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh’s behaviour had harmed “the dignity and high standing of the legal profession.”
“That, he, as a lawyer and a Chief State Attorney, having acted as counsel for the State in the case, Alfred Agbesi Woyome versus General & Anor had an amount of Four Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢400,000.00) transferred directly from Mr. Alfred Woyome into the bank account of his wife, Mrs. Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh without any reasonable explanation; a conduct or act that adversely affects the dignity and high standing of the legal profession”
SAMUEL NERQUAYE-TETTEH shall not hold himself out as a lawyer or attend chambers, or render or purport to render any professional legal services to the public. The practicing license of Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh is hereby withdrawn forthwith,” the notice said.