Former Chief Executive of the Ghana COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni has been sued at the Accra High Court for allegedly for causing financial loss to the state.
The State has leveled a total of 27 charges against Dr. Opuni along with Businessman cum Chief Executive Officer of Zeera Group of Companies, Alhaji Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd.
A copy of the writ sited by Peacefmonline shows that the trio are charged with wilfully causing financial loss to the State, defrauding by false pretence, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, corruption of public officer, money laundering among other various offences.
Per the Particulars of Offence regarding Count One, Mr Opuni, between January 2014 and November 2014, abetted Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd to defraud COCOBOD of the sum of GHC 43,120,000.
According to the suit, Mr. Agongo and Agricult Limited falsely obtained the amount between 2013 and November 2014 by representing COCOBOD to supply Lithovit Follar Fertilizer from Germany for application by farmers on cocoa for the 2013/2014 cocoa season.
The suit said ”Mr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni between November 2014 and November 2015 in Accra in the Greater Accra Region, abeted Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited to defraud Ghana COCOBOD of the sum of Ghc 75, 289, 314.72.”
“Stephen Kwabena Opuni on the 10th of October 2014 in Accra, agreed to permit your conduct as the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD to be influenced with an amount of Twenty Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc25,000) from Seidu Agongo”.
The state in the suit believes that the CEO of COCOBOD "failed to satisfy the prescribed conditions for single-sourced procurement". The state also concluded that Seidu Agongo and Agricult "sold misbranded fertilizer contrary to section 114(1(b) of the Plants and Fertilizer Act, 2010 (Act 803)".
Seidu Agongo is also accused of selling "adulterated fertilizer" contrary to section 114(1)(c) of the Plants and Fertilizer Act, 2010 (Act 803).
In fact, the state accuses Seidu Agongo of "manufacturing the fertilizer in commercial quantities without registration", contrary to the law.
It could be recalled that the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) froze the assets of the COCOBOD CEO as part of its investigations into an alleged scandal involving Dr. Opuni.
He was accused of exploiting and mismanaging the cocoa sector and was relieved of his post on January 12, 2017.
The Republic vrs Dr. Kwabena Opuni's case is set for hearing on Friday, March 23, 2018.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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1. DEFINE OF CORRUPTION: ANS:CORRUPTION IS DOCTOR OPUNI,IT CAN BE SEEN AND SMELL ALL AROUND HIM.HE IS THE ONE WHO CONSTRUCTED A SELF CONTAIN HOUSE ON HIS MOTHER'S TOMB.
Mr Opuni should be taken down very quickly with his associates, and all the money he stole should be collected and paid back to the state with interest. 27 counts or charges should equate to 27 years in prison, for he was and is a very wicked and evil person. Everybody in Ghana knows that Stephen Kwabena Opuni and his associates stole more than 100 million dollars, let him account for where he got the money for his assets, and if he cannot prove it was from a legitimate source, then the government can seize them.
Infact, Opuni nd co must be jail
Opuni which team do you support? I hear your wife be Man Utd and you support Chelsea.For your info. the judges that are going to sit on your case are Spanish Born.And they are going to give you a judgement that will immediately take you to the next world.Nextime if you see ghana money you no go chop am Again.
NDC ARE ENEMIES OF PROGRESS & GHANA'S QUEST TO DEVELOP. THEY ALWAYS PROTECT THE CREATE, LOOT & SHARE ELEMENTS AMONG THEM. PNDC KILLED ALL PERCEIVED CORRUPT PEOPLE. LISTENING TO KOFI ADAMS MAKE ME SAD! GHANA SHOULD NEVER RETURN NDC TO POWER!
GOOD NEWS.BUT HOW CAN LORDINA MAHAMA WASN'T PART?SHE WAS GIVEN A CONTRACT TO SUPPLY FERTILIZER AND WAS PAID THE FULL AMOUNT BUT THE FERTILIZER NEVER CAME.
MASTER YOU PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THIS SEIDU AGONGO MAN. HE IS A CROOK MAN. PLEASE I HAVE WORKED WITH HIM BEFORE. HE IS A FILTHY CROOK MAN. ALLAH HAD PUNISHED HIM ALREADY.
ANYONE WHO LOOT THE STATE MONEY WILL VOMIT IT WITH IMPUNITY. NO SINGLE CULPRIT WILL BE LEFT OUT WITHOUT INVESTIGATING INTO THEIR SYPHONING OF THE STATE COFFERS. EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO SIT UNDER HIS/HER SHADE. 'HE WHO THE CAP FITS WEARS IT'
READ WHAT SOMEBODY CALLED YAW HAS WRITTEN: "The NPP is so desperate to shed off the ***barred word*** corruption tag they are wearing so gorgeously barely a year into their administration!! Opuni will come out looking more patriotic than ever!!!" SOME PEOPLE LIKE THIS YAW DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE BRAINS. YOU WILL BE HAPPY IF CRIMINALS GO SCOT FREE??? HE REFUSES TO AGREE THAT IT IS MAINLY CORRUPTION THAT HAS DESTROYED GHANA. FUUUUUUUUU3UUUUUL. ENEMY OF PROGRESS.
Is this government serious, waste of time and state resource. They should seek Amidu's advice before sending this nosenseeeeeeee to court.