Banking consultant, Dr. Richmond Atuahene has questioned why Ghana’s financial sector cases dating back to 2017 remain unresolved, stating that the Attorney General, not the International Monetary Fund (IMF), should be held accountable for the delay.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Lantam Papanko, Dr. Atuahene argued that those seeking justice should direct their concerns to the Attorney General’s office rather than looking to the IMF for intervention.
“This case started in 2017. After 2020, are you saying that the previous Attorney General didn’t see anything wrong with it? Why couldn’t he have prosecuted it? People make a lot of noise, but if they had a solid case, they should be asking the Attorney General why it wasn’t pursued,” he said.
He further emphasized that Ghana’s Limitation Act, NRCD 575, places time restrictions on legal actions, with some cases having a statute of limitations of three, five, or thirty years. He warned that prolonged delays could make it legally impossible to prosecute certain financial crimes.
Amid discussions about petitioning the IMF over banking sector issues, Dr. Atuahene dismissed the move as ineffective.
“The IMF is not in this country to arbitrate on these matters. They are only here because we are taking their money. Reporting to them won’t change anything because it’s not part of their mandate,” he explained.
With the IMF delegation expected in Ghana next week, he noted that their focus would be on broader economic assessments, not unresolved financial sector cases.
Dr. Atuahene also touched on the ongoing transition at the Bank of Ghana, stating that the acting governor must first gather financial sector data before being confirmed by the Council of State.
He urged stakeholders to be more circumspect in their accusations, suggesting that earlier due diligence could have prevented the current predicament.
“If we had done the right thing from the start, would we be having this conversation today?” he asked.
