The Accra High Court has given counsel for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, until September 25, 2026, to file a submission of no case to answer after the prosecution closed its case.
The decision clears the way for the defence to argue that the prosecution has failed to present sufficient evidence to require Mr Adu-Boahene and the other accused persons to open their defence.
Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, and other accused persons are facing charges over the alleged diversion of GH¢49.1 million belonging to the state.
The funds were allegedly earmarked for the procurement of a cybersecurity system.
The prosecution closed its case after calling four witnesses.
Its final witness, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) investigator Frank Marshall Cromwell, was subjected to extensive cross-examination by defence counsel Samuel Atta Akyea.
The prosecution alleges that GH¢49.1 million was unlawfully transferred from an account associated with the National Security Coordinator’s Special Operations into an account belonging to BNC Communications Bureau Limited, a private company linked to Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife.
According to the prosecution’s evidence, three cheques totalling GH¢49.1 million were issued from the relevant account in 2020 and deposited into the company’s account at Universal Merchant Bank (UMB).
The prosecution maintains that the money was intended to finance the acquisition of a cybersecurity system from Israeli company ISC Holdings Ltd.
Mr Cromwell told the court that Mr Adu-Boahene signed a contract with ISC Holdings Ltd on January 30, 2020, for the proposed cybersecurity system.
The investigator said three cheques were subsequently issued and paid into the private company’s bank account.
He further testified that the UMB account had been opened shortly before the first cheque was issued.
Investigators consequently concluded that the account was created specifically to facilitate the alleged diversion of the funds.
The prosecution has also presented evidence seeking to establish how the GH¢49.1 million was subsequently transferred and spent.
During cross-examination, however, Mr Atta Akyea challenged aspects of the prosecution’s financial analysis and the conclusions drawn by EOCO investigators.
The witness acknowledged that some of the transactions under investigation involved amounts exceeding the GH¢49.1 million at the centre of the case.
The defence has also questioned the prosecution’s choice of witnesses, arguing that key officials who were involved in the National Security structure at the time should have been called to testify.
Mr Atta Akyea specifically mentioned former National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah and the then National Security Coordinator.
Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife and the other accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are currently on bail.
The charges include stealing, conspiracy to steal, defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, money laundering and related offences.
The September 25 filing will give the defence an opportunity to argue that the prosecution has not established a sufficient case against the accused persons.
The court will subsequently determine whether the accused persons should be called upon to mount a defence or whether the case should end at that stage.
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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