The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has said the sacked Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Adjenim Boateng Adjei has not been able to explain the source of “large volumes of excess wealth that passed through his bank accounts”.
Mr. Adjei was investigated by CHRAJ for corruption and conflict of interest after he was accused of sidestepping procurement processes for personal gains.
He was captured in an investigative piece put together by freelance journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure in 2019.
President Akufo-Addo subsequently referred the corruption aspect of the case to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to probe and that of conflict of interest directed to CHRAJ.
Mr. Adjei who was earlier suspended in August 2019 was sacked by President Akufo-Addo on Friday, October 30, 2020.
The Commission said in its report that it found overwhelming evidence to show that Mr. Adjei “put himself in several positions where his personal, relational, and pecuniary interest in TDL and other companies actually conflicted with the performance of the functions of his office as CEO and Board Member of PPA. The Commission holds that the Respondent [Mr. Adjei] has contravened article 284 of the 1992 Constitution.”
The Commission further said it analyzed data provided by the Financial Intelligence Centre and found total transactions during the period within which Mr. Adjei assumed office at GHS 14.8 million.
The said amount is a total sum of monies from Mr. Adjei’s four Dollar and Euro accounts held at two banks.
Below is CHRAJ’s finding on Mr. Adjei’s transactions since he assumed office in 2017
“The documentary alleged that the Respondent has been taking advantage of his office to improperly enrich himself, to which the Respondent strenuously denied through his solicitors.
“However, we can see from the records received from the FIC of the bank accounts of the Respondent that he handled large volumes of cash exceedingly in excess of his known income as CEO of PPA.”
“The Respondent opened USD Account Number 9040002473180 at the Stanbic Bank on 03 April 2017, after his appointment as CEO of PPA. As of 28 August 2019, a total amount of USD 516,225 had been credited to the account, and his debits stood at USD 504,607.87″.
“In respect of his Cedi Account No. 9040002313337 at the same bank, opened on 21 January 2017 before his appointment, a total of 3.83 million Cedis was credited, and 3.81 million Cedis debited, to the account between the date of his appointment as CEO and 29 August 2019.”
“His Euro Account at the same bank also had EU54,500.00 credited and 37,333 debited for the same period, in addition to his UMB USD Account No. “428872” which had seen cash flow of over 110,000 USD between December 2018 and March 2019 alone.”
“When confronted with the evidence of the sheer volume of cash that passed through his accounts the Respondent indicated that Frosty Ice Natural Mineral Water Ltd does not have a bank account and that proceeds from the sales of the water are lodged in his account.
“Frosty Ice Natural Mineral Water Ltd is the company the Respondent owns with his wife, Mercy Adjei. He also claimed that he receives money from other family businesses but could not name the family businesses.”
“The records from the Registrar-General show that Frosty Ice Natural Mineral Water Ltd was incorporated on 29th January 2019. So how could a company established in 2019 accumulate so much revenue in 2017 and 2018, before its establishment?
“Even though the Respondent is a director of over 19 companies, he himself claims that he did not receive the director’s fee from any of those companies except Beachfront Stevedoring Company Limited.
“We find that the Respondent’s explanation completely unsatisfactory and that he could not explain the source of the large volumes of excess wealth that passed through his bank accounts between March 2017 and August 2019 (unexplained wealth).”
