Manhyia South MP charged over alleged GH¢9.85m loss to SIC Life

The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has been charged with conspiracy, intentionally causing financial loss to a public body and money laundering over an alleged GH¢9.85 million loss involving state-owned SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited.

The charges were filed on October 3, 2026, by Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, following investigations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, a lawyer and Senior Partner at Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners, has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

The prosecution alleges that the 44-year-old MP, while serving as legal counsel for SIC Life, reached an arrangement with the company’s then Managing Director in 2024 to settle a judgment debt owed to the company for an amount substantially below the outstanding sum.

According to the prosecution, the arrangement resulted in SIC Life losing GH¢9.85 million.

The first count accuses the MP of conspiring to intentionally dissipate public funds, contrary to Section 1(1) of the Public Property Protection Decree, 1977 (SMCD 140), and Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

He is also charged with intentionally causing financial loss to a public body under Section 179A(2) of the Criminal Offences Act.

The third charge is money laundering, contrary to Section 1(2)(a)(ii) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).

How the SIC Life debt dispute began

The prosecution says SIC Life engaged Nana Baffour Awuah and his law firm in May 2020 to recover GH¢6.3 million owed to the company by Equity Savings and Loans Limited.

Under the agreement, the law firm was entitled to professional fees equivalent to 15% of the principal amount claimed, amounting to GH¢945,152.81, in addition to 1% for expenses.

SIC Life subsequently paid GH¢284,000 to the firm in May 2020 as part-payment of the professional fees.

On July 18, 2022, the High Court’s Commercial Division in Accra entered summary judgment in favour of SIC Life and awarded the company GH¢10.86 million.

In an effort to enforce the judgment, a 31.93-acre parcel of land belonging to Equity at Adamorobe, near KAS Valley Estate at Oyibi in the Greater Accra Region, was attached on December 20, 2023.

The court later appointed an auctioneer to sell the property by public auction, setting a reserve price of GH¢25 million.

By May 28, 2024, the judgment debt had risen to GH¢14,850,776.14, according to the prosecution.

Disputed settlement

The prosecution alleges that, despite the court attachment, Equity purportedly sold the property on March 14, 2024, to Eco Swiss Investment Limited for GH¢21.76 million.

Investigators subsequently established, according to the prosecution, that Eco Swiss had not been legally incorporated at the time of the transaction.

The prosecution further alleges that Eco Swiss had paid Equity GH¢5 million by July 2024 before filing a notice of claim challenging the court attachment. The move stalled the planned auction of the property.

It is the prosecution’s case that Nana Baffour Awuah subsequently facilitated a settlement involving SIC Life, Equity and Eco Swiss.

The parties executed Terms of Settlement on July 18, 2024, under which SIC Life agreed to accept GH¢5 million as full settlement of its GH¢14.85 million judgment debt.

The prosecution therefore contends that the arrangement caused an alleged financial loss of GH¢9.85 million to SIC Life.

Under the settlement, Eco Swiss was also required to pay GH¢2.2 million in legal fees to Nana Baffour Awuah and his law firm, while GH¢1 million was earmarked for auctioneer fees.

The prosecution alleges that the settlement was entered into by SIC Life’s then Managing Director in concert with Nana Baffour Awuah without prior approval from the company’s board, shareholders or the Ministry of Finance.

Alleged GH¢1m payment to former SIC Life MD

The Attorney-General further alleges that on November 11, 2024, shortly after receiving his legal fees, Nana Baffour Awuah issued a cheque for GH¢1 million to SIC Life’s then Managing Director.

According to the prosecution, the payment represented nearly half of the GH¢2.2 million legal fee received under the settlement.

The prosecution alleges that the payment was made to assist the recipient to evade the legal consequences of a crime.

The charge sheet consequently accuses the MP of transferring the GH¢1 million while knowing that the funds had been acquired through criminal conduct.

Defence disputes prosecution's case

Nana Baffour Awuah’s lawyers have rejected the prosecution’s characterisation of the transaction as the dissipation of public funds.

His lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, told the High Court that the transaction arose from legal work undertaken by the MP’s former law firm to recover funds owed to SIC Life by Equity Savings and Loans.

The defence maintains that the settlement was a commercial transaction and disputes the prosecution’s characterisation of the GH¢9.85 million as a loss to SIC Life.

Through his lawyers, Nana Baffour Awuah also told investigators that the matters under investigation related to work undertaken by his former law firm.

MP granted GH¢10m bail

The High Court in Accra granted Nana Baffour Awuah bail in the sum of GH¢10 million with two sureties on October 3 after he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The court further directed him to deposit his passport with the Court Registry and make himself available to EOCO whenever required.

The bail followed his voluntary surrender to EOCO on October 1, after the agency had secured a High Court warrant for his arrest and searches of his office and residence.

Samuel Atta Akyea had urged the court to grant the MP bail on self-recognisance, arguing that he was not a flight risk and had voluntarily reported to EOCO.

The prosecution did not oppose the bail application but asked the court to impose conditions to ensure that the accused remained available to investigators and the court.

The court has directed the prosecution to file its disclosures by October 22, 2026, ahead of a Case Management Conference scheduled for November 2.

Nana Baffour Awuah is expected to reappear before the court on October 26 and November 2, 2026.

The charges against him remain allegations and have not yet been tested or determined by the court.