Ukrainian Arm Racketeers To Be Deported

Two Ukrainian businessmen operating in Ghana are to be deported for their involvement in arm racketeering, and the use of fake government of Ghana documents for that purpose.

Sergiy and Georgii Tykhonov together with a Russian and Ghanaian accomplice allegedly forged letterheads and stamps of the defence and foreign ministries to prepare end-user certificates for the sale of arms to Pakistan and other countries.

Information available to JoyNEWS indicates that the Ghanaian accomplice Herman Seshie has been exonerated, while the Russian- Yuri Shelkov is still at large. The deportation order is the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of National Investigations and Military Intelligence.

The investigation confirmed the Crusading Guide newspaper report that the Tykhonov brothers were involved in an arms deal, although they have denied being members of an arms cartel.

Incriminating documents were also found in the possession of the two men according to the report. Government is however yet to act on the reports from the two units. Checks with the various government departments have however drew blank.

The Accra based Crusading Guide newspaper broke the story on the activities of the two Ukrainians who have registered a company in the country to produce plastic products.

The Paper's investigations revealed that the two were members of an international arms cartel using the name of Ghana to illegally sell arms to some African countries including Sudan, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, and Libya.

Security operatives from National Intelligence, Defence Intelligence and the Bureau of National Investigations mounted The Defence Intelligence in its report to the coordinator of National Security indicted the two as dealing in illegal sale of arms using faked official state documents.

But weeks after the both the Defence Intelligence and the BNI have submitted their reports to the National Coordinator, action is yet to be taken on the matter.

A source at the Defence Intelligence told JOYNEWS that since the two foreigners cannot be prosecuted under our laws, the worst they can expect is deportation. Checks with government quarters on the next line of action have so far drawn blanks. Officials have simply declined to talk at least for now.