The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has filed 15 felony expenses towards Charles Bissue, the previous Secretary of the now-defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), and his alleged confederate, Andy Thomas Owusu.
In accordance with court docket paperwork filed on the Felony Division of the Accra Excessive Courtroom on 28 April, Mr Bissue is alleged to have corruptly accepted bribes totalling GHC35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong, immediately and thru Mr Owusu, between January and February 2019.
The bribes were allegedly paid to expedite the renewal of an expired mining licence for ORR Assets Enterprise with out adhering to correct procedures.
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The fees towards the 2 people are in depth. Mr Bissue faces 9 counts, together with utilizing public workplace for revenue underneath part 179C(a) of Act 29, for allegedly receiving GHC15,000 on 22 January, GHC10,000 on 30 January, and one other GHC10,000 on 8 February to bypass IMCIM vetting processes.
He’s additionally charged with corruption by a public officer underneath sections 239(1) and (3) of Act 29, as amended by Act 1034, for accepting bribes to affect his official duties.
In the meantime, Mr Owusu faces six counts, together with aiding Mr Bissue’s corruption underneath Part 179C(b), performing as an middleman to facilitate the illicit funds.
He’s additional charged with corruption of a public officer and accepting bribes to affect a public officer underneath sections 239(2) and 252(1).
These expenses relate to GHC5,000 allegedly acquired in Kumasi for falsely claiming he may safe favours from Mr Bissue.
Investigations by the OSP, together with proof from a Tiger Eye P.I. sting operation, revealed that Mr Owusu negotiated a bribe of GHC100,000 (later decreased to GHC40,000) with Mr Adjapong, who posed as a consultant of ORR Assets Enterprise.
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In accordance with the prosecution, Mr Bissue in the end acquired GHC35,000, whereas Mr Owusu pocketed GHC15,000.
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The IMCIM, established in 2017 to deal with unlawful mining (domestically often known as galamsey), was disbanded in 2021 following a collection of corruption scandals, together with allegations involving Mr Bissue’s misappropriation of excavators and gold nuggets.
