Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu in his assessment of the risk of corruption in the controversial ‘Agyapa Deal’ has disclosed that Data Bank, co-owned by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta was smuggled into the deal as a decoy (enticement).
“The whole of the fees for the bid purportedly won by Imara of South African with its decoy, Databank of Ghana, is to be paid in United States Dollars to Imara Corporate Finance Limited (Pty) of South Africa.
“The Mandate Agreement does not say how and when the decoy, Databank of Ghana, was to be paid by Imara for a contract purportedly won and performed jointly,” The SP’s report stated.
The report added, “this opaque arrangement in the contract negotiation process not arising out of the Public Procurement Authority approval is what made the analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment conclude that the process of the selection of the Transaction Advisor(s) disclosed a reasonable suspicion of bid-rigging and corruption activity including the potential for illicit financial flows and money laundering in the arrangement of how the fees payable to Databank of Ghana as the decoy which was not approved under the Public Procurement Authority Act, 2003 (Act 663 as amended) are to be made.”
Source: TheBBCghana.Com
