Andy Thomas Owusu, the second accused within the Charles Bissue alleged unlawful mining case, was yesterday convicted to a superb of GH¢206,000 by the Accra Excessive Court docket.
This was after he opted for a plea cut price with the Workplace Particular Prosecutor (OSP) who’s prosecuting him along with Charles Bissue, the previous Secretary of the Inter Ministerial Committee on Unlawful Mining.
Mr Owusu was convicted to 500 penalty items, equal to GH¢6, 000 along with GH¢200, 000 restitution to be paid to the state.
He was convicted on his personal plea after the courtroom accepted a plea cut price settlement entered beneath part 71 of the Workplace of the Particular Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
The cost was based mostly on Corruption of a Public Officer and Accepting Bribe to Affect a Public Officer.
This case stems from the 2019 “Galamsey Fraud Half One” investigation by Tiger Eye PI, which implicated Owusu and then-presidential staffer, Charles Bissue, in facilitating unlawful mining licenses for bribes.
Following his conviction, the courtroom struck out two further costs — Corruption of a Public Officer and Accepting Bribe to Affect a Public Officer.
Owusu has been charged along with Charles Bissue, the previous Secretary of the Inter Ministerial Committee on Unlawful Mining with 15 counts of a number of offences, involving the abuse of workplace, corruption, and efforts to beneathmine lawful mining laws.
The case had since been advertjourned to June 10, 2025.
The information of the case, as presented by the OSP, had been that the IMCIM was established by then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in March 2017 to take care of the unlawful mining menace.
Amongst different issues, the information revealed that the IMCIM was chargeable for coordinating the actions of the combat towards unlawful mining and as a part of the combat, all artisanal and small-scale mining was suspended for six months in April 2017, which was later prolonged for 9 months.
To be able to resume work, the information additional defined that, small-scale mining corporations had been required to endure a vetting and verification course of according to professionalcedures established by the IMCIM.
In accordance with the OSP, Bissue was accountable for the stated verification and vetting course of, which the
anti-graft physique alleged he used for personal achieve.
“The proof would set up that the First Accused, with the collaboration and facilitation of the Second Accused, acquired for private revenue and profit a sum of GH¢35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong,” the OSP said.
“The proof would additional set up that the Second Accused acquired the sum of GH¢15,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong for the aim of unduly influencing the First Accused, in respect of the discharge of his duties because the Secretary of the IMCIM, to circumvent established necessities of the IMCIM beneath its Street Map for Lifting of Ban on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (The Means Forward), 2018,” the OSP added.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
