Newsfile host Samson Lardy Anyenini has questioned whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to sustain the allegation that former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his co-accused stole Ghc49.1 million through a fictitious US$7 million cybersecurity procurement.
In his editorial segment, “Samson’s Take”, Anyenini examined the defence’s 142-page submission of no case to answer, which disputes the prosecution’s claim that the entire Ghc49.1 million was dishonestly appropriated.
He said the defence acknowledges that three cheques were issued and the money moved, but argues that transactions involving the National Security Coordinator account for about Ghc34 million of the amount in question.
“That’s nearly 70% of the Ghc49.1 million allegedly stolen. The prosecution has the burden to satisfactorily trace these funds and establish which transactions constituted dishonest appropriation,” he said.
Anyenini stressed that the movement of money through an account does not, on its own, establish theft.
“Money moving through an account is not by itself proof of theft,” he said, adding that the prosecution must demonstrate how the disputed transactions amounted to criminal appropriation.
He said the central question was whether the state could account for the full amount it had publicly described as stolen, rather than simply establish that the money was transferred.
