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21.10.2002 General News

Baby Ocansey Gets 15 Years

By GNA
Baby Ocansey  Gets 15 Years
21.10.2002 LISTEN

An Accra High Court presided over by Mr Justice Isaac Duose on Monday sentenced Hajia Baby Ocansey, a businesswoman, to 15 years imprisonment in hard labour.

Mr. Justice Douse and the two other panel members, Mr A. K. Arhin and Mr. R. K. Quarshie, in a unanimous decision, found Ocansey guilty on all the four charges of causing financial loss to the state, stealing, possessing and uttering forged documents.

She will serve 15 years on each of the four counts, but the sentence would run concurrently. Ocansey, 62, has 30 days to appeal against her sentence.

The tribunal ordered that the convict's house at Gbawe in Accra and three vehicles should be confiscated to the state, while 30,000 dollars, which was retrieved from her during investigations, should be returned to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

Mr Justice Douse stated that throughout the trial, the tribunal considered the fraudulent manner in which the money was en-cashed from BoG, thereby causing a financial loss of 1.5 million dollars (almost 13 billion cedis) to the state.

The Chairman also noted with dissatisfaction, the manner in which Ocansey frivolously expended the money. Mr Justice Duose stated that the tribunal was imposing a sentence "which in view of your age, you would not come back from prison to enjoy your booty".

He added that in the current economic circumstance, "we are no more tolerating such crimes". Reasons for the sentence were deferred to Friday, 25 October, "because of delay in printing" The Defence Counsel, Mr. Godfred D. Laryea, said he would appeal against the sentence at the Supreme Court, at an appropriate time.

Mr. Laryea had earlier prayed the court to deal leniently with his client. He asked the tribunal further to consider that his client used the money for philanthropic purposes and that she was a first offender.

Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney who prosecuted, was grateful to the tribunal, saying he was satisfied that the prosecution did prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Immediately Ocansey received the marching orders from the police to begin her sentence she pointed at the Chairman and said "Thank you. God is the greatest".

Ocansey who was in green traditional attire with a long white cloth over her green headgear, with a white pair of slippers to match, was at every point in time reciting and counting a "Tsbir", the Muslim version of the Rosary, which she held.

Throughout the almost three year’s trial, the convict looked very cheerful with occasional smiles. On Tuesday, 13 August, 2002, the tribunal acquitted and discharged three others - two former officials of the BOG and a businessman, who had been charged jointly with Ocansey.

The tribunal ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Mr Sebastian Gavor and Mr Justice Larbie, the two former employees of the BOG and Alhaji Sidiq Gimala, the businessman.

The Principal State Attorney had earlier told the Tribunal that in the latter part of October 1999, Gavor called one Mr E. D. Donkoh, Manager of the Budget and Accounts Department of the Bank into his office and asked him to furnish Ocansey with the account number and address of the Ghana International Bank in London.

Mr Donkoh complied with the request, which enabled Ocansey to transact business with the bank.

Mr Gyambiby said on 11 November, 1999, Ocansey presented a bank draft purported to have been issued by the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, dated 05 November, 1999 with the face value of 1.5 million dollars to Gavor for encashment, after which Gavor instructed his secretary, Mrs Lucy Sasu to ask Mr Donkoh to send the draft to Mr Ashie Djanie of the bank for processing for collection.

The draft whose maturity date was 12 December 1999, was given to Mr Djanie for processing after which it was despatched by the BOG on 26 November 1999.

On 01 December, 1999, Citibank, New York, confirmed by a swift message having credited 1.5 million dollars to the BOG's account, but with the following proviso; "subject to the rules governing cheques and their clearings". Mr Gyambiby said "this message was received the following day."

On 16 November, 1999, Mr Gavor asked Mr Djanie, who worked in the Banking Department of the BOG, to use his (Gavor's) IDD to confer with the BOG's contact personnel at the City Bank to know the status of the bank draft and he was informed that, the BOG had been credited with the bank draft.

Irrespective of the proviso about the clearance of cheques and banking procedures, Mr Larbie instructed Mr Djanie to process the draft for payment and subsequently approved the payment schedule.

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