CAPITAL BANK COLLAPSE : I AM WILLING TO REFUND GH¢27.5MILLION TO THE STATE – ATO ESSIEN

Lawyers of Willaim Ato Essien, the founder of the defunct Capital Bank, who is standing trial for allegedly collapsing the bank, has told the Accra High Court that their client is willing to refund GH¢27.5 million back to the state.

The amount is what the state has accused Essien of using as business promotion and which he allegedly carried in jute bags to be distributed to some people.

Counsel for Essien, Mr. Baffour Gyewu Bonsu told the court Thursday that his client had already paid GH¢1.4 million of the GH¢27.5 million to the state, reports Graphic Online’s court reporter, Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson.

He said discussions were still ongoing with the prosecution and therefore the court should adjourn the case to enable the discussions to continue.

Proposal

The prosecutor, Mrs. Mariana Appiah Oppong, a Chief State Attorney, confirmed to the court that lawyers for Essien had indeed informed her about their intention to pay the amount.

She, however, said the lawyers must bring a detailed proposal to the Director for Public Prosecution (DPP) and after a review the DPP would make a determination to accept it or not.

The court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, therefore, gave the lawyers for Essien one month to send the proposal to the DPP.


A hearing will continue on June 18, 2020 during which the prosecution is expected to report to the court whether or not it had accepted the proposal.