Six people remain in detention after being charged with extorting GH¢280 million from oil marketing businesses alongside Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the former CEO of the National Petroleum Authority.
This is due to their inability to comply with the bail requirements set by the High Court on Wednesday.
Only Dr. Abdul-Hamid complied with the bail requirement, according to a statement released Friday by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which is in charge of prosecution.
The suspects were released on GH¢14 million bail.
This came after they entered not guilty pleas to 25 counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering (as defined by Section 23 of Act 29 and Sections 1 (1), 1 (2), and 4 of the anti-money laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044)), extortion by a public official (as defined by Section 151 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29)), and money laundering (as defined by Sections 1 (1), 1 (2), and 4 of Act 1044).
Former Information Minister Dr. Abdul-Hamid, two other NPA officials, Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) Coordinator Jacob Kwamina Amuah, and NPA employee Wendy Newman were all granted GH¢2 million bail apiece, with two sureties to be provided.
The court mandated that one of the sureties be a public official with a net salary of at least GH¢5,000 as part of the bail requirement, and the other must show proof of landed property ownership.
Every two weeks, all three of the accused are required to report to the authorities.
Five executives from three companies have also been charged in connection with the suspected money laundering conspiracy, in addition to the NPA officials.
Among them are Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, Albert Ankrah, and Isaac Mensah.
A bail of GH¢2 million has been given to each of the accused, along with three sureties, one of whom needs to provide proof of landed property. A new date of August 26, 2025, has been set for the lawsuit.
Source: newsthemegh.com