Dominic Ayine (L) and Godfred Dame (R)
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has disclosed information regarding how the former Attorney General, Godfred Dame, disregarded recommendations from state prosecutors in the case involving the newly appointed Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama.
He stated during a press conference on February 12, 2025, that a communique was sent to Godfred Dame’s office by the state prosecutors, advising against prosecuting Dr. Asiama on the criminal charges brought against him in the trial over the closure of some banks, recommending that the charges be dropped. The communique emphasised the lack of credible and crucial evidence to substantiate the case.
“… my attention was drawn to an internal memo prepared by the Prosecutions Division of the Department for the attention of the former Attorney General which recommended that the charges against him be dropped.”
The Bolgatanga East lawmaker further noted that Dame failed to act on the recommendations and, as a result, chose to proceed with the case.
The memo reads, “A study of the facts of the case indicates that the initial facility of Ghs300 million has been recovered, leaving GHS150 million outstanding. The Office has confirmed from the Bank of Ghana (through Mr. Alexander Taah, PW2), that the interest from the outstanding amount is presently being serviced by UMB Bank. Mr. Taah also indicated that UMB has an amount of GHS150 million locked up with CBG. It is expected that when the said sum is released to UMB, the loan amount for which A3 [Johnson Pundit Asiama] was charged with causing financial loss will be repaid to the Bank of Ghana. This therefore may render the charges proffered against A3 moot, leading to his discharge.”
Ayine defended his decision to drop the charges against Dr. Asiama, explaining that there were “fatal flaws” in the case, including a lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute and convict the accused.
He argued that Dame’s insistence on continuing with the case, despite the advice, resulted in a waste of state resources.
“The third reason why I dropped the charges in some of the cases was that the evidence adduced so far fell significantly short of what was required to convict the accused and yet the state pressed on with the prosecution. I consider that to be a total waste of state resources.
“Obviously, the former Attorney General failed to act on these recommendations which were made to him by the Prosecutions Division. If he disagreed with the recommendations, I am unable to say but I agree with them. Based on these recommendations, I dropped the charges against Johnson Pundit Asiama in both the Unibank and UT Bank cases,” he indicated.
He further emphasised that his decision was in line with the legal principles of their profession, which instruct prosecutors not to pursue charges that are not supported by facts or substantial evidence in a criminal case.
“In coming to this decision, I am fortified by the Rule 40(2)(a) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423) which provides that, in a criminal case, a prosecutor shall refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by the facts.”
Dr. Asiama was being prosecuted by the former government for allegedly causing a GH¢150 million financial loss to the state during his tenure as the 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 2012 to 2016.
He faced charges of violating the Bank of Ghana Act for approving a GH¢300 million facility to Universal Merchant Bank.
MAG/EK
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