Commonwealth Head of Mission to lead petition for jailed Ato Essien
The Head of Mission for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, Dr John Apea, has announced plans to file a petition for a presidential pardon for the jailed founder of the defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien.
Addressing a news conference last Thursday (July 10), he explained that Mr Ato Essien, who was jailed in 2023 for stealing over GH₵90 million belonging to the bank, was currently battling health challenges and was in a wheelchair.
He added that the trial of Ato Essien was a miscarriage of justice, saying he was preparing to gather over 650 signatures for the petition.
Amount
Dr Apea said the GH¢90 million that the state accused Essien of stealing was not stolen, but part of a liquidity support loan provided by the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank, not a bailout or grant.
He stated that Capital Bank had been repaying GH¢ 14.4 million monthly without default, and had already repaid GH¢308 million before the bank's closure.
"That GH¢90 million is extremely contentious to begin with. The case was made that liquidity support was given by the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank, the bank he founded.
I'm here to tell you that this liquidity support was not free money; it was a loan, a commercial loan at 28 per cent per annum.
And until Capital Bank was closed, they were paying GH¢ 14.4 million every month without default," he stated.
Dr Apea further argued that Ato Essien was neither the Managing Director nor part of the bank's management team, but had only acted as a facilitator in securing the loan.
Background
Essien, who was convicted in December 2022 for stealing over GH₵90 million belonging to Capital Bank, avoided a custodial sentence after the court accepted an agreement between him and the Attorney-General (A-G) for him (Essien) to pay the GH¢90 million as restitution to the state.
In a ruling, the court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, held that Essien has failed to pay the restitution to the state per the agreed terms with the A-G.
The agreement was pursuant to Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), which allows accused persons standing trial for causing financial loss to the state to pay the money and possibly avoid a custodial sentence.
Essien paid GH₵30 million of the amount on December 1, 2022, and per the agreement as adopted by the court, was ordered to pay the remaining GH₵60 million in three instalments with the first instalment on or before April 28, 2023, the second on or before August 31, 2023, and the last instalment on or before December 15, 2023.
However, Justice Kyei Baffour said as of the time of sentencing, Essien had paid only GH₵7 million out of a possible GH¢40 million, missing the deadlines for April 28 and August 3, 2023, bringing the total paid to GH₵37 million of the total GH₵90 million.
Justice Kyei Baffour, however, ruled that Essien could regain his freedom if he paid the outstanding sum of GH₵53 million, which is what is left for him to pay to the state as reparation and restitution.
He has since been jailed with an appeal in motion to challenge the decision of the trial High Court.
