The Accra High Court has imposed a 15-year jail term on the founder of defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, for stealing over GH₵90 million belonging to the bank.
Essien, who was convicted in December last year 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 this afternoon, 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.
Ato Essien pays GH¢4m ahead of sentence motion hearing.
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 today, Essien had paid only GH₵7 million out of a possible GH¢40 million, missing the deadlines for April 28 and August 31 this year, 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.
Source: Graphiconline.com
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@Araba, why should he keep the money? Is the money for him? You are encouraging malfeasance. The court will go after his properties to sell them off. So @Araba, your thinking isn't smart and he is not tsupid to have paid back. In fact, that he paid some back served as a mitigating factor in lessoning the severity of the sentence as he could have easily gone in for 30! Looking at his age he is probably in his forty and everything put together means he would come out of jail a feeble old man. The law isn't tsupid if properly applied. Juts that there is selective application of the law which defeats the purpose of justice in this country.
Good one there. This guy should spend the full 15 years at Nsawam. Next is Opuni. The court should expedite Opuni's case. He has enjoyed his booty for far too long but bad days will come soon.
So you can steal from the state and pay back and avoid jail. Crazy country. Let him pay back the stolen money and go to jail in addition.
Clearly he hasn’t spent this money and so if he doesn’t have it, where is it ?? Does he get to keep the rest after serving his sentence ? If so, he’s a ***barred word*** to have paid back any any and still go to jail, especially as Cecelia Dapaah has a packed court firmly on her side along with all those cleared of wrongdoing by the president. This is purely a case of sell me your bank, no sir, then I’ll show you where power lies.
A good beginning but it is still not enough. Let the same medicine be administered on politically-exposed persons. Stealing from the state should be a very risky adventure for anybody harboring such thoughts. Enough of the impunity which has left ordinary citizens poor and ravished by underdevelopment and corruption. Now we want his collaborators and the big fishes as he could not have done this alone.. Heads at BOG must roll.