GIIF SkyTrain case: Former CEO asks Supreme Court to halt proceedings
THE former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Mr Solomon Asamoah, has filed two applications at the Supreme Court seeking to halt criminal proceedings against him at the High Court in Accra over an alleged $2 million financial loss to the state.
The applications, in the nature of certiorari and prohibition, seek to quash the processes of the trial court and stop the ongoing proceedings.
At the High Court on Monday, Counsel for Mr Asamoah, Ms Victoria Barth, asked the court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, for a short adjournment to enable the Supreme Court to hear and determine the applications.
The Principal State Attorney, Mrs Sefako Batse, opposed the request and urged the court to proceed with the trial.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay, however, adjourned the case to October 19, pending the determination of the applications by the Supreme Court.
Mr Asamoah and former GIIF Board Chairman, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, are on bail and facing charges over the alleged approval and payment of $2 million to a South African company for the SkyTrain project without the requisite board approval.
The prosecution alleges that the SkyTrain project was not approved by the GIIF Board, which was responsible for the fund’s decisions, actions and liabilities.
The accused persons are facing six counts, including conspiracy to commit crime, intentional dissipation of public funds and wilfully causing financial loss to the Republic.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, called three witnesses before closing its case.
A former GIIF board member, Yaw Odame-Darkwa, testified that the board did not approve the transaction, while former Board Secretary Kofi Boakye gave similar evidence. An investigator, Francis Aboagye, also corroborated their testimonies.
On July 2, the High Court dismissed the accused persons’ submissions of no case and directed them to file their respective defences within 21 days. However, they failed to do so, prompting the court to grant further extensions.
Counsel for the accused have maintained that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case, arguing that the $2 million constituted an equity investment for a 10 per cent stake in the project and was therefore not dissipated state funds.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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