Source: newsthemegh.com
Moses Asaga, a former Upper East Regional Member of Parliament for Nabdam, has refuted allegations that he owns properties in Dubai that were obtained illegally.
The allegations started after a report by the UK-based think tank, the Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), named Asaga, Inusah Fuseini, and several former Mahama cabinet appointees among others.
According to the May 14, 2024, OCCRP investigation titled “How Dirty Money Finds a Home in Dubai Real Estate,” these people may have accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of real estate in Dubai while they were in positions of authority.
The report also emphasized Dubai’s standing as a financial haven, implying that it has evolved into a haven for money coming from dubious origins.
In reaction to Citi News, the former Nabdam MP questioned the emphasis on his investment and rejected the allegations, calling them a political ploy.
Asaga contended that his thirty-year career—during which he held prominent positions at GNPC, Ecobank, and as a Deputy Minister of Finance and Minister for Employment—more than warranted his $133,000 investment in such properties.
By drawing comparisons between the values of real estate in Ghana, where brand-new apartments can bring up to $200,000, and Trassaco, where luxury homes can fetch between $1 million and $5 million, he contested the narrative of wrongdoing.
“I thought I had done something criminal and corrupt worth investigating. $133, 000, shouldn’t I be able to own such an investment? What are the prices of Trasaco properties $1m- $3m who are staying there? Is it not politicians and majority NPP functionaries? Has the OCCRP gone to put a story on them? This is a political machination.
“So, they think for my 30-year working life I should not have an investment of that paltry amount. Before politics, I worked with Ecobank, and GNPC and was Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister for Employment, and CEO of NPA. I could not afford an investment of $133,000 for a student one-bedroom apartment. What is the crime and corruption involved in this?
“In Ghana, new apartments are being sold for $200,000 plus, and Trasaco is $1m–$5m. Who stays in them is [it] not bankers, CEOs of GNPC, COCOBOD, BOST, and politicians,” he asked.