The GH90 million repayment terms on Ato Essien’s restitution deal have been accepted by an Accra High Court.
Last week, the Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour rejected a settlement agreement reached between state prosecutors and Ato Essien, the embattled founder of now-defunct Capital Bank.
Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, rejected the agreement, stating that the amount agreed to be paid was insufficient, and adjourned the case to December 13 for the parties to address the court on the legal basis of the agreement’s terms.
However, Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah argued in court on Tuesday that the funds were state funds because the defunct capital bank was taken over by the state and state funds were used to pay depositors’ money.
Ato Essien’s counsel also justified the deal, claiming that the state received an additional GHS 30 million in addition to the GHS 56 million in ‘outstanding money’ that Ato Essien agreed to steal.
After reviewing the parties’ arguments, Justice Eric Kyei Baffour accepted the restitution agreement. The accused has since pleaded guilty to stealing and money laundering charges.
For the past three years, Ato Essien and two others have been on trial for their roles in the failure of Capital Bank. The prosecution also accused Mr. Essien of stealing GH620 million in liquidity assistance from the Bank of Ghana to keep the bank afloat.
In reaching an agreement, the prosecution and the accused informed the court that they were covered by Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993, Act 459. (as amended). The provision reads as follows:
“(1) Where a person is charged with an offence before the High Court or a Regional Tribunal, the commission of which has caused economic loss, harm or damage to the State or any State agency, the accused may inform the prosecutor whether the accused admits the offence and is willing to offer compensation or make restitution and reparation for the loss, harm or damage caused.”
Justice Kyei Baffour was skeptical of applying Section 35 of the Courts Act to the current case, pointing out that the funds in question belonged to depositors and shareholders of the defunct bank, not the state as a whole.
According to the proposed agreement, Mr. Essien agreed to pay the state GH90 million in total: GH30 million upfront and GH60 million in instalments.
The court, however, was dissatisfied with the arrangement.
The judge also thought that the timing of the deal’s announcement was not ideal, as he was about to deliver his decision.
Mr. Essien is on trial with Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, the former Managing Director of the Bank, and Tetteh Nettey, the former Managing Director of MC Management Service, which is also owned by Mr. Ato Essien.
They were tried together on 23 counts of criminality, including conspiracy to steal and stealing in connection with the Capital Bank collapse in 2017.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintained their innocence throughout the trial, with Mr. Ato Essien stating at all material times that he had Board approval for all actions he took.
