William Ato Essien, the founder of the now-defunct Capital Bank, has been requested to be imprisoned in an application filed by the Attorney-General (A-G) before the High Court in Accra.
Following Essien's failure to meet the last Friday, April 28 deadline for paying GH20 million to the state as part of a restitution agreement between him and the A-G and upheld by the court, a motion was filed yesterday and signed by a Chief State Attorney, Evelyn D. Keelson.
Essien, who was found guilty of stealing and spending more than GH90 million in liquidity assistance provided to the Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), is required to reimburse the state GH60 million in three installments, with the first installment's due date being April 28, 2023.
Prison term
If the criminal fails to pay the money in line with the terms of the agreement, he runs the risk of going to jail.
The A-G argues in the motion that Essien missed the payment deadline after checking with the Controller and Accountant General Department.
"That the Controller and Accountant General told the applicant [A-G] in a response dated May 2, 2023, that the respondent [Essien] had not made such a payment.
The overdue money under the agreement has become due, and the respondent is subject to a jail sentence by the court, the A-G said, since he has failed to comply with a condition placed on him by this Honourable Court under Section 35 of the Courts Act.
Guilty
Essien entered a guilty plea to 16 charges of theft and money laundering on December 13 of last year, and the court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour found him guilty based on his own plea.
However, the court accepted a deal between the defendant and the prosecution for him (Essien) to pay the GH90 million in restitution, so the convict avoided a non-custodial sentence.
The arrangement was made in accordance with Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), which permits defendants facing trial for causing the state financial loss to pay the money and maybe avoid serving time in prison.
According to the agreement, Essien has already paid the state GH$30 million (of the outstanding GH$90 million) and would pay the final GH$60 million by the end of this year in three payments of GH$20 million.
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