The allegation was made by a renowned Accra-based lawyer, William Adumoah-Bossman, one-time lawyer for Egbert Adjeso, a defendant in the case when he was subpoenaed by the court to assist it find the whereabouts of the loan.
In Bossman’s evidence he informed the court that he received information from some workers of Bank of Ghana (BoG) that the money came into the country and that some were even packed into boxes and sent to the castle.
Mr. Obeng noted that he does not know whether the money came into the country because he was not involved in the operations of the Central Bank.
Mr. Obeng also denied allegation by one Brando Alfred Darko, an associate to the American company that he (Obeng) collected from S.K. Appea, then Governor of Bank of Ghana (BoG), two signed documents which included a commission for Thomas Moss, the agent for the Hong Kong Trust, donor of the loan and sent them to the Castle immediately Mr. Appiah signed the mandate for the money to be transferred into the country.
Even though reporters have been stopped by Justice Margaret Insaidoo, the trial judge at a commercial from covering proceedings, reliable information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicates that Mr. Obeng made these statements when he appeared in the witness box to testify in the matter.
The matter involves Mr. Van Kirksey and Associates, as plaintiffs and Egbert Adjeso and Associates, PV.Obeng and Bank of Ghana as the defendants.
Mr. Van Kirksey, the chairman of the U.S. Company, who initiated the court action against the defendants, is seeking redress to retrieve his 10 percent share agreement of the total loan package which he used his company to acquire for the country.
Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr Obeng told the court that he first met the plaintiffs in the late 1980s when they came with Egbert Adjeso to his house to seek his assistance on how to transfer the loan to the country.
Mr. Obeng, who at that time held positions such as the chairman of committee of secretaries, Presidential adviser on Governmental Affairs and the Chairman of Ghana Investment Promotion Center, stated that after listening to them he observed that it was an official matter and therefore asked them to meet him at the Castle.
According to him, at the Castle he met them in his capacity as a government official and subsequently asked them about their challenges and they informed him that they had secured an external loan of $2.5billion but were facing difficulties in transferring the amount to BoG because the officials were not cooperating.
Mr. Obeng reportedly told the court that he expressed surprise and told them that difficulties emerged when one was sending money overseas.
Following this, he advised that as investors they should go to Ghana Investment and Promotion Centre (GIPC) where they would be educated on the necessary procedures to follow and that if they encountered any further difficulties they should inform him.
The parties, he said, later returned and told him they were still facing difficulties, adding that he observed that they did not do what he told them.
In the course of his testimony, Mr. Obeng identified two letters dated September 7, 1987 and June 24, 1993, which he wrote to the plaintiffs informing them of his intention to discontinue with their proposal because he observed that technically the matter did not merit his attention.
In one of the letters, he explained that evidence gathered did not encourage him to continue with the proposal and the fact that some other government officials were involved in the same loan package.
He however advised them to come back to him when “they finally decide to play ball.” These letters were read in open court.
In response to a question posed as to whether he sent one Mr. Afriyie to a filing station in Tema to inform the plaintiffs that he (Obeng) would only release the money if they pay him $50 million, Mr. Obeng said he did not have any authority to release money from the Central bank.
Mr. Obeng also answered questions concerning certain issues raised in paragraph 3 of a petition to Ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, which read “Mr. President, in line with the approval of this loan, the trust transferred $1billion to Bank of Ghana through Chase Manhattan bank in New York in favour of the beneficiaries.
Ironically when BoG received the notification of the transfer, they did not inform the beneficiaries but in collusion with Dr. Botchwey, P.V.Obeng, Dr. Agama (Former Governor of BoG), they proceeded to Chase Manhattan bank to divert the funds into their own private off shore account.
This account has been running for the past 10 years covered by the moratorium that yields interest for their private pocket. At the time Agama was leaving office he handed the file to Dr. Kwabena Duffuor who unfortunately joined the mafia”
Mr. Obeng denied the contents of the said petition, claiming that he knew nothing about the issue and threatened to sue the writer for defamation. The matter has been adjourned for cross-examination.
Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE is reliably informed that Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister for Finance, who was subpoenaed by the court, has already testified in the matter.
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