Co-Chair of the Citizens Movement Against Corruption, Edem Senanu, has rejected suggestions that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta should be allowed to meet the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) virtually or be investigated in absentia.
According to Mr. Senanu, criminal matters fall outside the scope of the Electronic Transactions Act, making remote participation in such investigations legally inappropriate and procedurally flawed.
His comments come in the wake of Mr. Ofori-Atta’s failure to appear before the OSP on Monday, June 2, 2025, for questioning related to ongoing corruption investigations.
The OSP subsequently announced it has begun steps to request an INTERPOL Red Notice to facilitate the former minister’s arrest and extradition.
The OSP has been investigating Mr. Ofori-Atta’s involvement in several high-profile financial dealings during his tenure as Finance Minister from 2017 to 2024.
These include the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) revenue assurance contract, financial commitments to the National Cathedral project, and questionable procurement practices.
Mr. Ofori-Atta was initially declared wanted in February 2025 after failing to honour a summons.
His legal team later assured the OSP that he would return and appear in person on June 2, leading to the suspension of the wanted notice.
However, that promise was not fulfilled, prompting the OSP to reinstate the notice.
Despite citing health issues, Ofori-Atta’s legal team requested a virtual interview under the Electronic Transactions Act—a request the OSP rejected, insisting that his physical presence is essential for the integrity of the investigation.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Senanu described the situation as a troubling example of perceived special treatment.
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“According to him, “I think that the SP is just trying to get his job done and he’s also mindful that the public are not going to be too happy if he appears to be changing the rules for some Ghanaians and making some seem to be having special treatment. So I think he should just follow what the rules of engagement are. What happens when people don’t show up,” Mr. Senanu said.
He further questioned the legal rationale behind the request for a virtual interview, stating, “I think that the law, the electronic law, they are referring to only deals with civil cases and not criminal cases. And it makes every sense to me that in a criminal case, if we finish the interrogation and find that truly you’re culpable, what’s the value of you being on an electronic platform sitting in another country? That would not help our criminal case. We want to make sure we can then say we are picking you up, report until we have the court cases and there you are sanctioned and go to jail or whatever.”
Mr. Senanu stressed the need for equality before the law, arguing that if Mr. Ofori-Atta is innocent, he should have no hesitation in appearing physically to clear his name.
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He demanded Mr. Ofori-Atta to make himself available for the legal process so the state can recover any potential lost resources and move forward with development.
“If you have contributed to the loss of resources, you’ll be sanctioned. So let our former finance minister make himself available for these processes to be done with. The five cases are properly handled and we can move on if there are resources, if there are assets to be retrieved, money that can help us develop. We want to make sure that all those monies are brought back to the case so that Ghana has opportunity to develop.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
