The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has described as misleading and inaccurate recent media reports suggesting that former Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah has been cleared of corruption by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In a public notice issued on Monday, the OSP said some outlets had wrongly claimed that the FBI “found no evidence of corruption” or that it had “cleared” Ms Dapaah following a joint probe. The office stressed that such interpretations were a “mischievous misrepresentation” of its Half-Yearly Report, specifically page nine, bullet 2.26.
According to the OSP, the report stated that no direct and immediate evidence of corruption was found — a carefully defined legal standard that, it said, is materially different from blanket statements such as “no evidence” or “cleared.”
The OSP explained that while aspects of the investigations were conducted in collaboration with the FBI, its findings also uncovered strong indications of suspected money laundering and structuring. Because those offences fall directly under the mandate of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the OSP said it referred the case to that agency.
It further disclosed that although the previous EOCO leadership returned the docket without acting, the new leadership of EOCO has since requested and received the docket from the OSP.
The OSP urged media organisations to exercise precision in reporting, emphasising the importance of fidelity to the text of official documents in order to maintain accurate, fair, and responsible public communication on sensitive matters of national interest.
