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THE MYSTERY surrounding the payment of �34,758,343.33 (GH�3.4m) to Nana Emmanuel Wood by the state is still shrouded in secrecy as witnesses from the Attorney General�s Department, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Controller and Accountant General�s Departments all failed to provide proof of the said payment. The payment was after government had confiscated two timber companies, Holex Ghana Limited and Priorities Ghana Limited at Akim Oda belonging to one, Nana Emmanuel Wood, but the basis for the release is shrouded in secrecy. Appearing before the Judgment Debt Commission chaired by Justice Yaw Apau, the deputy director of the banking department of the Bank of Ghana in charge of treasury, Andrews Kingsley Kojo Kufeh said, �with the originating documents we were not able to lay hands on them and normally that would give us the MDA to request the ministry of finance to effect the payment.� Asked by Counsel of the Commission, Kofi Dometi Sokpor whether the payment was yet to be ascertained, he said, �So far as the documentations are concerned we have limited information in respect of the original transaction.� He further told the commission that the documents available indicated that they only had instructions from MoFEP to Accountant General�s Department to enable them effect the payment to the said person. �The request letter from MoFEP was done on December 29, 2006 among other payments including Nana Emmanuel Wood for the payment of the �34, 758,343.331 which the Accountant General faithfully responded to by requesting the BoG that same day to effect the payment, and BoG effected the payment. Per the bank statement available payment was effected on January 4, 2007.� MoFEP represented by the director in charge of external resource mobilization (bilateral), Kwadwo Awuah Peasah also told the commission the ministry could not trace the original file so he could not tell the commission the basis of the payment. �My Lord, in connection with this particular case, going through the file I came across a memo, done by the legal division, and that was as far back as December 2006, it appears a directive was given to one of our legal counsel to compile all outstanding payments, and one name that appeared was Nana Emmanuel Wood, approval was given for the payment of that amount, but soft documents for all the cases were not in the file, so I guess the legal department has access to the soft documents.� Also appearing before the commission were Eric Kweku Hammond on the payment of debts to Construction Pioneers and Edward Kobla Somlafo, from the Controller and Accountant General�s Department in respect of Tedeku Wellington�s Cap 30 pension petition before National Labour Commission. The commission�s sitting has been adjourned to Tuesday, September 9 at 10 am.