The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr Adjenim Boateng Adjei, and his brother in-law, Mr Francis Kwaku Arhin, were granted GH¢5 million bail with two sureties to be justified by the High Court, Accra.
As part of the bail conditions, the court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Nsenkyire, ordered Mr Adjeito deposit his passport with the Registrar of the court.
Mr Adjei and Mr Arhin pleaded not guilty to alleged criminal charges levelled against them.
The court asked the prosecution to make disclosures(documents) the state intends to rely upon during proceedings and serve accused.
Justice Nsenkyire also asked accused to file witness statements as well as the addresses of the witnesses accused would invite to testify.
Counsel for the former CEO of PPA, Kwaki Acheampong Boateng, told the court his client, is a businessman in Ghana, had a fixed place of abode,not a flight risk and would not abscond if granted bail
The Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr Kissi Adjebeng, did not oppose bail, but asked the court to consider the amount of money accused allegedly appropriated.
By a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo, referred allegations of corruption against MrAdjei to the Office of the SP.
The referral was on the back of and based on an audio-visual documentary titled Contracts for Sale, an investigative journalistic piece conducted by Manasseh Azure Awuni and aired by the Multimedia Group.
According to MrAdjebeng, the evidence will establish that MrAdjei was at all material times the CEO and a member of the Governing Board of PPA.
Mr Adjei and his brother-in-law, Arhin, according to the SP, incorporated Talent Discovery Limited in Ghana as a company limited by shares on June 19, 2017, three months after MrAdjei was appointed CEO of PPA.
Prosecution said at all material times, Mr Adjei was the majority shareholder and a director of Talent Discovery Limited; and MrArhin was the minority shareholder, a director and the CEO of Talent Discovery Limited.
According to the SP, MrAdjei and Mr Arhin employed Talent Discovery Limited as their sure bet of winning public contracts in a disingenuous and unlawful design by which the former would employ his position as the CEO and a member of the Governing Board of PPA to directly.
The court heard that Mr Adjei indirectly improperly influence the outcome of the procurement process in favour of the company and the latter would run the affairs of the company until the retirement of the former from public service – at which time the former would join the latter at the company and share the spoils. According to the SP Talent Discovery Limited, during the tenure of MrAdjei as the CEO and a member of the Governing Board of PPA, participated in several restricted tenders in respect of public works contracts awarded by the Ministry of Works and Housing, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Special Development Initiatives, Ministry of Inner-City & Zongo Development and the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
