Ato Essien pays GH¢4m to testify as AG prepares motion for trial
William Ato Essien, the current Managing Director of Capital Bank, has taken steps to avoid arrest for failure to pay GH¢20 million to the state within theagreed time frame following painstaking settlement negotiations.
Daily Guide newspaper reports on its front page of May 11, 2023 that Essien has paid the state GH¢4 million. The amount is 20% of the agreed sum.
The Attorney-General, a week ago, filed a petition praying theAccra High Court to impose a prison sentence on Essien for non-payment of GH¢20 million to the state.
The court fixed May 11, 2023, for the Attorney General to move the motion, but the payment means Essien would likely escape jail for the time being.
The former banker was in December 2023 ordered by an Accra High Court presided over Justice Eric Kyei Baffour to pay GH¢20 million to the state by April 28, 2023. Essien narrowly escaped a custodial sentence after his lawyers had agreed with the Office of the Attorney General to pay GH¢60 million in three installments.
He had earlier on paid GH¢30 million out of GH¢90million while the trial was ongoing. The decision of the GA was based on the fact that the deadline for Essien to hand over the GH¢20 million to the state by April 28 has passed without any proof that he did so.
The AG has written to the Comptroller and Accountant General to find out if Essien has been paid by the court order. A response from the manager and Accounts General indicatedthat Essien had not paid any fees.
The court fixed May 11, 2023, for the Attorney General to move the motion, but the payment means Essien would likely escape jail for the time being.
The former banker was in December 2023 ordered by an Accra High Court presided over Justice Eric Kyei Baffour to pay GH¢20 million to the state by April 28, 2023. Essien narrowly escaped a custodial sentence after his lawyers had agreed with the Office of the Attorney General to pay GH¢60 million in three installments.
He had earlier on paid GH¢30 million out of GH¢90million while the trial was ongoing. The decision of the GA was based on the fact that the deadline for Essien to hand over the GH¢20 million to the state by April 28 has passed without any proof that he did so.
The AG has written to the Comptroller and Accountant General to find out if Essien has been paid by the court order. A response from the manager and Accounts General indicatedthat Essien had not paid any fees.
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