Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame has launched a blistering critique of current Attorney-General Dr. Dominic Ayine, accusing him of abandoning the prosecution of major financial crime cases and compromising the rule of law.
In a detailed statement released on Monday, Dame alleged that Ayine’s decision to discontinue several high-stakes trials has cost the Republic over GHC7 billion in potential recoveries.
“A careful analysis of all the cases discontinued by Dr. Ayine would show an abandonment of the pursuit of a total of over GHC7 billion,” Dame stated.
He further accused Ayine of misrepresenting facts to justify what Dame called an agenda of leniency toward politically exposed persons.
“Ayine should simply declare his fundamental aversion to prosecution of financial crimes against a section of the Ghanaian society and an appetite for cutting deals,” Dame said.
One of Dame’s central criticisms was directed at Ayine’s handling of the Unibank case. According to Dame, the current Attorney-General has falsely claimed credit for recovering assets, when in fact all relevant assets had been identified by the Receiver appointed by the Bank of Ghana years earlier.
“He cannot lay claim to recovering any more assets than what the Receiver already has,” Dame declared.
He also raised questions about the legal foundation for Ayine’s settlement approach. “What he proposes to do is not pursued under any law. It is only pursuant to the exercise of Ayine’s power of nolle prosequi,” he said, demanding clarity on whether any official agreement exists and whether properties have been fairly valued.
Dame contrasted Ayine’s approach with his own tenure, highlighting successful convictions in the Capital Bank, NCA, and VCTF cases. He expressed dismay that Ayine had discontinued appeals and failed to extradite convicted persons like Sedinam Tamakloe Attionu. “Dr. Ayine ought to brief the nation on what he is doing to extradite the lady to serve her sentence,” Dame stated.
The former Attorney-General also criticised what he described as Ayine’s “condescending tone” toward his predecessors, particularly Gloria Afua Akuffo, who he noted is “many years senior to Dr. Ayine both at the Bar and in office.”
He called for the reintroduction of legal reforms he initiated to streamline criminal trials, saying, “If Dr. Ayine seeks to speed up the trial of financial cases, he ought to reintroduce that Bill into Parliament.”
