The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has secured a High Court order, freezing five bank accounts and four landed properties belonging to the former Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMMCCoD), Dennis Edward Aboagye, over the alleged misappropriation of GH¢55 million in public funds.
The order comes weeks after Aboagye was arrested by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service at the Kotoka International Airport and handed him over to EOCO in connection with investigations into alleged financial improprieties during his tenure at the committee.
A former Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 presidential campaign of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Aboagye was granted bail in the sum of GH¢50 million with two sureties on July 14.
EOCO said Aboagye and the former Accountant of IMMCCoD, Gerald Appiah, were being investigated for conspiracy to steal, stealing, using public office for profit, causing financial loss to the state, dissipation of public funds, defrauding by false pretences, money laundering and other related offences.
The investigations, according to EOCO, stem from a forensic audit of IMMCCoD covering the period from August 1, 2022, to February 2, 2025.
EOCO disclosed that Appiah had begun refunding part of the alleged stolen funds.
The office said Aboagye had previously honoured invitations to assist with the investigations.
However, as part of efforts to prevent him from leaving the country, a Stop Order was issued after an operational plan to arrest him had been activated. EOCO later discovered he had travelled outside the country before the order took effect.
Upon his return to Ghana, officers of the Ghana Immigration Service executed the Stop Order and handed him over to EOCO.
EOCO said Aboagye subsequently accompanied investigators during searches linked to the case, with further searches expected as investigations continue.
The office reaffirmed its commitment to conducting the investigations professionally, impartially and within the confines of the law, while respecting the constitutional rights of all persons under investigation and pursuing the recovery of public assets.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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