Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abednego Atsah, the Fifth Prosecution Witness has told the High Court in Accra that, police investigators dealt with all the issues the Receiver of Beige Bank had caused them to investigate.
According to him, in the cause of his investigation, he identified two broad categories of transactions which were carried out per the instructions of the accused.
The first of the two categories he said were transactions relating to an amount of about GHc320 million Ghana cedis transferred from the Beige Bank to Beige Bank Capital Asset Management (BCAM) upon the instructions of the Accused.
He also told the court that, the second category of transactions referred to the sum of about 21 million Ghana Cedis which was transferred to some 10 companies.
According to the Witness, when the matter was referred to investigators by the Receiver, he specifically set out 10 issues that he required the investigation to address.
He told the court that, the first matter the Receiver wanted him to investigate was the objective for opening that second First Africa Savings and Loans (FASL) account.
ASP Atsah said, per his investigation, the statement of Vanessa Atsu and Susana Philips who worked with FASL and Beige Bank respectively, explained that the second account was a transactional account to enable FASL hold placements it receives from Beige Capital Asset Management (BCAM).
He told the Court that, per paragraph 5 of Exhibit 37, the Receiver requested the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the payments of 21 Million Ghana Cedis to the ten companies and two individuals.
Asked under Cross-Examination by Counsel for Mr. Michael Nyineku, the founder of the defunct Beige Bank, about whether the outcome of his investigations revealed anything contrary to the responses given to him by Vanessa Atsu and Susana Philips, the Witness told the Court that, his investigation did not reveal anything contrary to the information that was given to him by Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu.
ASP Atsah also told the Court that, the second thing required from the Receiver was to find specifically why the Know Your Customers (KYC) procedures of the bank were breached in opening that second account.
He said, a statement received from one Thomas Esso who was then the Managing Director of BCAM, confirmed that even before he joined BCAM, BCAM was already doing business with FASL.
He also admitted that, Yvonne Philips, Susana Philips, Vanessa Atsu all explained in their statements to the police that it was after the Beige Group had acquired the majority shareholding in FASL that the second account was opened.
The witness however said, “Their explanation did not factor that the larger shareholding that was being purchased had not been fully paid for as they were awaiting the Bank of Ghana’s approval,” the witness added.
When counsel therefore put to him that, “they knew FASL and the KYC requirements that the Receiver asked you to investigate were fully satisfied,” he agreed with counsel.
“They were working with FASL as officials of the Beige Group,” ASP Atsah told the Court Under Cross Examination.
The Witness also told the court that in the statement of Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu to the police, they stated categorically that all the procedures for opening the second FASL account were duly followed.
When Mr Sory Put to him that, the third question the receiver required his investigations to address was the person who authorized the opening of the second account, which he agreed.
It was the case of counsel that, per the third question, Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu confirmed to him in their statement to the police that it was the CEO of the Beige Group which acquired majority shareholding in FASL who authorized that the account be opened, the Witness agreed.
But, when counsel asked if the Receiver also wanted him to address whether there were any other accounts that were opened and whether he found any accounts that were opened, his answer was in the negative.
The Investigator, ASP Abednego Atsah, the Fifth Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial had had his Witness Statement given on December 8, 2022 adopted by the Court as his Evidence-in-Chief including various exhibits on July 7.
In his Evidence-in-Chief as contained in his witness statement to the Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge is to corroborate the Prosecution’s charges that have been leveled against Mr. Michael Nyineku.
Mr. Nyinaku, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the defunct bank, has been accused of allegedly siphoning customers funds and has been charged for stealing GH¢2.1 billion of depositors’ money from the bank.
He has pleaded not guilty to 43 charges including stealing, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering and has been granted bail.
Below is Further Cross Examination of PW5 by Mr Sory on July 21, 2023. Q for Question. A for Answer
Q. Please take a look at paragraph 13 of your witness statement, in that paragraph of your witness statement you identify from your investigations two broad categories of transactions which were carried out on the instructions of the accused person, is that correct?
A. That is correct.
Q: The first category of transactions relates to an amount of about 320 million Ghana cedis transferred from the Bank to BCAM on the instructions of the accused person, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: The second category of transaction referred to the sum of about 21 million Ghana Cedis which was transferred to the 10 companies you have testified about in paragraph 6 of your witness statement, is that correct?
A: Yes my lady, that is correct.
Q: For clarity, the 320 Million Ghana Cedis went from BCAM to FASL company, is that correct?
A: That is correct. The account that was opened for FASL.
Q: From that paragraph of your witness statement, you reached the conclusion that the transactions were effected on the instructions of the accused person based on documentation that were made available to you, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: Take a look at paragraph 6 of your witness statement, you confirm that you received statements that were taken from a number of individuals and also documents relating to the transaction, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: And in paragraph 15 of your witness statement, you provide a lot more clarity that the transfers were effected by virtue of internal memos from the finance department of the bank and approved by the accused person, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: You have not made available to the court the background documents which supports the transfer of the funds by way of internal memos to show how the funds were transferred from the bank to BCAM?
A: We have those documents and we made photocopies to the office of the Attorney General.
Q: Have you also made available to the Attorney General’s department the internal memos supporting the transfers from BCAM to FASL?
A: Those documents were bulky and we made photocopies and submitted them to the office of the Attorney General.
Q: Did you also make available to the Attorney General the supporting documents by virtue of which the transfers were made from the FASL account to the 10 companies and the two individuals especially the internal memos.
A: All those documents were received from Commercial Crime Unit (CCU) and we made photocopies and submitted same.
Q: You also investigated the ten companies which received the funds from FASL, did you make available to the Attorney General’s office the documents which shows what the funds were to be used for?
A: All those documents were received and we made them available.
Mr. Sory: My lady in this trial, what we have seen are bank statements that shows debits and credits of funds. The internal memos or correspondences on the basis of which each of those transactions were effected from the Bank to BCAM and from BCAM to FASL and from FASL to the ten companies and the two individuals and the documentations made available by the ten companies and the two individuals have not been made available to in the disclosures.
Mrs. Keelson: When it comes to the transfer of the 320 million. We have actually tendered in evidence all the documents and the internal memos. Everything have been tendered in evidence.
Mr. Sory: My lady we want the internal memos and the approvals that supports the debits and credits in respect of the 320 Million Ghana cedis between the bank and BCAM. The second leg is the internal memos and approvals that supports the transfer of funds from BCAM to FASL. The third one is the internal memos and approvals that support the transfer of funds to the ten companies and the two individuals. Finally, we want the documents made available by the ten companies and the two individuals to the police to explain how the funds were utilized. The two individuals are Evelyn Nana Afia Kyei and Godwin Nordjo.
Mrs. Keelson: My lady the third request which is the internal memos and approvals that support the transfer of funds to the ten companies and the two individuals, I have said that we have tendered these documents and they are in evidence. They are marked as Exhibits K and L series. The rest of the internal memos are statements. I have not come across the rest of the statements counsel is talking about so I will find out.
BY COURT
The prosecution is directed to file all the documents available to them relative to the requests made by 12 noon on 25th July, 2023.
Q: From your testimony in this court, it means that there should be about 299 Million Ghana Cedis still in the second FASL account and I arrive at this amount from taking the difference from the 320 Million that was transferred to that account and about 21 Million that were transferred to the ten companies and the two individuals, is that correct?
A: That is correct my lady.
Q: Of the 21 Million Ghana Cedis that was transferred to the ten companies and two individuals, about 2 million of it was paid to BIDVEST, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: Then about GH¢80,000 was given to Nana Afia Evelyn Kyei, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: Nana Afia Evelyn Kyei explains to you that she utilized only GH¢18,000 out of that amount, is that correct?
A: If my memory serves me right, she mentioned GH¢20,000 and said it was left with GH¢60,000.
Q: Which was paid back, is that correct?
A: She mentioned that it was still in her account.
Q: But she also added that it was in the custody of the Receiver because it was in the account?
A: That is correct. The account was embargoed.
Q: In respect of Godwin Nordjo, he received GH¢15,000?
A: That is correct.
Q: He explained that it was used for purposes for payments for various people who rendered service to the bank, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: The documents I have just shown you is the letter the Receiver wrote to the CID in connection to the second FASL account, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Mr. Sory: My lady I want to tender the document through the witness
By Court: Any objection?
Mrs. Keelson: My lady we have no objection.
BY COURT
The document is admitted without objection and same is marked as Exhibit 37.
Q: If you look at paragraph 5 of Exhibit 37, the last sentence specifically requests the CID to investigate the payments of this 21 Million Ghana Cedis to the ten companies and the two individuals, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: In paragraph 6, the Receiver now sets out ten specific things that he requires the investigation to address, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: The first matter the Receiver wanted you to investigate was the objective for opening that second account, is that correct?
A: That is correct
Q: In your investigations, the statement of Vanessa Atsu and Susana Philips explained that the second account was a transactional account to enable the BCAM make placements to FASL, is that correct?
A: That is correct. That is what is stated.
Q: Did your investigation reveal anything contrary to this information that was given to you by Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu?
A: They were the very people that created the accounts and that was exactly what the Receiver sought from us.
Q: The question is, did your investigation reveal anything contrary to this information that was given to you by Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu?
A: No my lady.
Q: The second one required you to find specifically why the Know Your Customers (KYC) procedures of the bank were breached in opening that second account?
A: That is correct.
Q: The statement of Thomas Esso confirms that even before he joined BCAM, BCAM was already doing business with FASL?
A: That is correct.
Q: And Yvonne Philips, Susana Philips, Vanessa Atsu all explained in their statements to the police that it was after the Beige Group had acquired the majority shareholding in FASL that the second account was opened?
A: That is so my lady. Their explanation did not factor that the larger shareholding that was being purchased had not been fully paid for as they were awaiting the Bank of Ghana’s approval.
Q: Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu actually stated in their statements to the police that were designated officials of FASL, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: I am putting it to you that they knew FASL and the KYC requirements that the receiver asked you to investigate was fully satisfied.
A: They were working with FASL as officials of the Beige Group.
Q: I am further putting it to you that in the statement of Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu to the police, they stated categorically that all the procedures for opening the second FASL account were duly followed.
A: That is so. That is what they stated.
Q: And the third question the receiver required your investigations to address was the person who authorized the opening of the second account, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: And in respect of that third question, Susana Philips and Vanessa Atsu confirmed to you in their statement to the police that it was the CEO of the Beige Group which acquired majority shareholding in FASL who authorized that the account be opened?
A: That is correct.
Q: The Receiver also wanted you to address whether there were any other accounts that were opened, did you find any accounts that were opened?
A: No my lady.
Q: The Receiver also wanted to find out the reason why they wanted to withdraw the 38 Million Ghana Cedis from the second FASL account, is that correct?
A: That is so my lady.
Q: I am referring you to Exhibits AG and AH, AG makes it clear that approval was sought to withdraw the amount for the payment of the fixed term deposit redemption, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: And Exhibit AH which is the letter requesting the withdrawal makes it clear that the recipient of the amount was BCAM, is that correct?
A: That is correct my lady.
Q: The document I have just handed to you is the statement of Yiadom Boakye Augustine made to the Commercial Crime Unit (CCU) of the CID dated 7th August, 2018?
A: That is correct.
Mr. Sory: My lady I want to tender the document through the witness.
By Court: Any objection
Mrs. Keelson: My lady we have no objection.
BY COURT
The document dated 7th August, 2018 is admitted without objection and same is marked as Exhibit 38.
Q: If you take a look at the second page of Exhibit 38, from line 17, Yiadom Boakye confirms there that the withdrawal was necessary to meet a redemption in respect of a placement made by BCAM to FASL, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: The Receiver also wanted to know who provided the letterhead of the letter on which the letter for withdrawal of the 38 Million Ghana Cedis was written, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: You have testified in this court that Vanesa Atsu and Susana Philips worked with FASL, is that not correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: I am putting it to you that they therefore had access to the letterhead of FASL.
A: That I cannot tell.
Q: The Receiver also wanted to know who signed the letter for withdrawal of the 38 Million Ghana Cedis, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: And you found out that it was Vanessa Atsu and Yvonne Philips, is that correct?
A: It was rather Augustine Boakye Yiadom and Yvonne Philips.
Q: Also the Receiver wanted to know why customer funds were diverted from BCAM and placed in the second FASL account, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: In respect of this particular aspect of your investigation, the statements of Yvonne Philips, Vanessa Atsu, Thomas Esso, Nana Evelyn Afia Kyei all confirmed that it was to enable BCAM make placements with FASL, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: The Receiver also wanted to know who authorized the transfer of about the 21 million Ghana Cedis to the ten companies and the two individuals, is that correct?
A: That is correct.
Q: Did you find out who authorized the 21 million Ghana Cedis to the ten companies and the two individuals?
A: That is so my lady.
Q: You found out who those ten companies and two individuals were, is that not so?
A: That is correct.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Murtala Inusah
