Two bail applications fail as Asante Akyem North MP remains in Dutch custody – Dafeamekpor

The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has disclosed that two attempts by lawyers to secure bail for detained Asante Akyem North MP, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, have been unsuccessful.

The MP remains in custody in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as he awaits an extradition hearing scheduled for November 18.

He was arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on May 10, after arriving from Ghana.

His detention followed an extradition request from the United States.

The case has been linked in media reports to allegations of romance scams and money laundering.

However, the allegations have not been established in court.

Parliament confirmed his detention on May 12, and said the Speaker and parliamentary leadership were engaging Ghana's diplomatic mission in The Hague to obtain further information.

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of Parliament's resumption on Tuesday, November 3, the South Dayi MP said the legal team had exhausted two unsuccessful bail applications.

“The update is that regarding my colleague OK Frimpong, we have failed to secure bail for him in respect of the two applications that were brought before the court or the tribunal, so to speak, and so he is still in Amsterdam in custody,” he said.

Mr Dafeamekpor said the extradition hearing would determine whether the Ghanaian legislator should be transferred to the United States to face allegations against him.

He urged the public to remember the MP and his legal team in prayers as they prepare for the hearing.

He also dismissed reports that Mr Frimpong had already been taken to the United States, insisting that the judicial process was still ongoing in the Netherlands.

“So he's not been taken to the US as has been alleged. No, it's still—we are still going through the rigour of the judicial process,” he added.