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Open Letter To The Attorney General: An Urgent Call For Enforcement, Asset Recovery, And Systemic Fiscal Reform

  19 Aug 2026
Feature Article Open Letter To The Attorney General: An Urgent Call For Enforcement, Asset Recovery, And Systemic Fiscal Reform
WED, 19 AUG 2026

August 18, 2026
From: Concerned Citizens for Fiscal Accountability & Environmental Justice

To: The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Ministry of Justice, Accra, Ghana

SUBJECT: AN URGENT CALL FOR THE UNCOMPROMISING ENFORCEMENT OF FINES AND ASSET RECOVERY IN THE CASES OF STATE V. BERNARD ANTWI-BOASIAKO & AKONTA MINING LTD, AND THE EOCO PROBE INTO DENNIS MIRACLES ABOAGYE

Dear Honorable Attorney General,
We write to you today on behalf of millions of Ghanaians who look to your office as the primary gatekeeper of public interest, structural accountability, and the rule of law. The recent milestone rulings delivered by the Accra High Court have injected a rare wave of systemic optimism into our national anti-corruption apparatus. However, judicial pronouncements remain hollow victories if your office permits partisan networks, bureaucratic bottlenecks, or selective enforcement to dilute their implementation.

Specifically, we call your direct, unyielding attention to the following mandates, grounded in a rigorous comparative analysis of our Public Financial Management (PFM) laws:

August 18, 2026
From: Concerned Citizens for Fiscal Accountability & Environmental Justice

To: The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Ministry of Justice, Accra, Ghana

SUBJECT: AN URGENT CALL FOR THE UNCOMPROMISING ENFORCEMENT OF FINES AND ASSET RECOVERY IN THE CASES OF STATE V. BERNARD ANTWI-BOASIAKO & AKONTA MINING LTD, AND THE EOCO PROBE INTO DENNIS MIRACLES ABOAGYE

Dear Honorable Attorney General,
We write to you today on behalf of millions of Ghanaians who look to your office as the primary gatekeeper of public interest, structural accountability, and the rule of law. The recent milestone rulings delivered by the Accra High Court have injected a rare wave of systemic optimism into our national anti-corruption apparatus. However, judicial pronouncements remain hollow victories if your office permits partisan networks, bureaucratic bottlenecks, or selective enforcement to dilute their implementation.

Specifically, we call your direct, unyielding attention to the following mandates, grounded in a rigorous comparative analysis of our Public Financial Management (PFM) laws:

1. Rigorous Enforcement of Fines Against Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) and Akonta Mining Limited

On July 20, 2026, the Accra High Court justly sentenced Bernard Antwi-Boasiako to a 20-year custodial sentence for blatant, unapproved mining operations inside the protected Samreboi forest concession. Alongside this historic prison term, the court slapped him with a personal fine of 10,000 penalty units (GH¢120,000) and fined Akonta Mining Limited GH¢180,000 on each relevant count.

  • Our Demand: Your office must proactively guarantee that these state fines are paid directly into the consolidated fund within the legally specified timeframe. We demand a public confirmation from your desk that no backdoor motions or structural restructuring will be entertained to stall or waive these penalties. If there is a default in payment, the mandatory consecutive 3-year prison sentence must be executed immediately without compromise.

2. Guarding the Preservation of Assets and Addressing IMCCoD Procurement Deficiencies

On August 3, 2026, the Accra High Court upheld an application by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to freeze five bank accounts and four prime landed properties belonging to former IMCCoD Executive Secretary Dennis Miracles Aboagye amid a critical GH¢55 million corruption and money laundering probe.

A comparative review reveals exactly how the alleged transactions at the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD) under Dennis Miracles Aboagye structurally violated Ghana's fiscal safeguard laws:

  • Violations of Section 40 of the Public Procurement Act (Act 663): This statutory requirement restricts single-source procurement to extreme emergencies, requiring written, pre-approved ministerial sign-off. At the IMCCoD, over GH¢32 million in decentralized capacity-building contracts were allegedly single-sourced to politically connected shell companies without regulatory approval. This created an illegal bypass of the competitive tendering loop, directly giving room for artificial price inflation and embezzlement.
  • Violations of Section 25 of the PFM Act, 2016 (Act 921): This law strictly mandates that all public funds and institutional allocations remain in authorized Bank of Ghana operational accounts. Yet, EOCO investigators successfully traced millions of public decentralization funds diverted out of official structures and layered across five private commercial bank accounts now frozen by the High Court. This directly triggers statutory investigations for money laundering and unauthorized containment of state revenue.
  • Violations of Section 96 of the PFM Act (Act 921): This law dictates that any public officer who signs contracts that commit the state to unbudgeted expenses is personally liable for financial loss. The IMCCoD records reveal the authorization of GH¢23 million in ghost procurement orders for equipment that was paid for but never delivered to local assemblies. This strips away administrative immunity, making the actor personally liable for active asset recovery and prosecution.

Our Final Call to Action

In the face of intense political pushback, where high-profile figures have criticized the state's actions and characterized the investigations as "oppressive," your office must remain resolute. We expect the Ministry of Justice to provide full institutional cover and legal reinforcement to EOCO investigators. The state must block any legal maneuvers designed to quietly unfreeze these accounts or dilute the state's protective custody of the frozen real estate portfolio while the substantive criminal trial is assembled.

Honorable Attorney General, true justice cannot look at a political card. The state purse has bled for far too long under the guise of partisan immunity. We urge you to handle these cases with absolute transparency, giving everyday Ghanaians concrete proof that the laws of this republic apply equally to the powerful and the stateless alike.

Yours faithfully,
Concerned Citizens for Fiscal Accountability & Environmental Justice

✍️ Submitted by:
Retired Senior Citizen
For and on behalf of all Senior Citizens of the Republic of Ghana 🇬🇭

Teshie-Nungua
[email protected]

Atitso Akpalu
Atitso Akpalu, © 2026

A Voice for Accountability and Reform in Governance. More Atitso Akpalu is a prominent Ghanaian columnist known for his incisive analysis of political and economic issues. With a focus on transparency, accountability, and reform, Akpalu has been a vocal critic of mismanagement and corruption in Ghana's governance. His writings often highlight the need for decentralization, local governance empowerment, and robust anti-corruption measures. Akpalu's work aims to foster a more equitable and just society, advocating for policies that benefit all Ghanaians.

He is a passionate advocate for transparency and accountability. His columns focus on critical analysis of political and economic issues, with a particular interest in the energy sector, financial services, and environmental sustainability. He believes in the power of informed citizenry to drive positive change and am committed to highlighting the challenges and opportunities facing Ghana today.
Column: Atitso Akpalu

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