Not even GHC 1 has been recovered by AG to date – Dame

Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame has accused his successor, Dr. Dominic Ayine, of grossly misleading the public about progress in recovering funds from collapsed banks and financial crime prosecutions, declaring pointedly that “to date, Dr. Ayine has not recovered a single cedi in the Unibank matter.”

In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, Dame described as “alarming” what he termed Dr. Ayine’s “penchant to peddle untruths,” particularly concerning ongoing and discontinued high-profile financial crime cases. At the heart of his concerns is what he characterises as a deceptive portrayal of Ayine’s achievements in asset recovery.

Dame took specific aim at Ayine’s claim of having made strides in recovering assets from the promoters of defunct Unibank. He insisted that all assets belonging to the Duffuor family and affiliated companies had already been identified by the Receiver appointed by the Bank of Ghana, well before Ayine assumed office.

“Dr. Ayine should indicate to the public when either himself or his team this year discovered any new assets owned by the Duffuors,” Dame challenged. “What he proposes to do, and for which he has already entered nolle prosequi, is to, in future, use some of the assets already identified by the Receiver to defray what he has unilaterally determined to be owed.”

According to Dame, no legal mechanism underpins Ayine’s proposed arrangement, which relies solely on his discretionary authority to discontinue prosecutions under the nolle prosequi doctrine. He questioned the legal and financial soundness of this approach, citing the lack of any agreement, objective asset valuation, or enforceable framework.

Further, Dame argued that Ayine’s discontinuation of several financial crime cases—many of which Dame initiated—has cost the Republic dearly. “A careful analysis of all the cases discontinued by Dr. Ayine would show an abandonment of the pursuit of a total of over Seven Billion Ghana Cedis (GHC7 billion),” he asserted.

Citing the example of the Republic v. William Ato Essien case, Dame contrasted Ayine’s approach with what he described as firm, law-based enforcement during his own tenure. Essien was jailed for defaulting on payments under a GHC90 million agreement, a case Dame said proved the credibility of prosecution-driven asset recovery.

Dame also dismissed as false Ayine’s claim that it took six months to file witness statements in the Ato Forson trial, clarifying that “the prosecution filed all witness statements and documents on 14th February, 2022—less than one month after arraignment.”

He accused Ayine of undermining the Office of the Attorney-General with “plain untruths, half-truths, and misinformation,” and described his public conduct as unprofessional.

Dame also criticised Ayine for allegedly speaking of his predecessors in a “condescending tone,” including former AG Gloria Afua Akuffo, who Dame said deserves “utmost respect.”