The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has launched an intensive search for Charles Andoh, the 35-year-old man who is alleged to have forged the signature of the Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to engage in a shady oil deal.
Pursuant to that, the office will, next week, seek a warrant from a court for Andoh’s arrest and also cause it to be published that he is being sought for.
His pictures will accompany all publications.
The Executive Director of the EOCO, Mr Biadela Mortey Akpadzi, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said Andoh had jumped police enquiry bail but the office was not aware until it requested the police to hand him over for interrogation.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) itself, he said, was not aware that Andoh had jumped bail until the EOCO requested for him.
‘We requested the police to hand him over and it was at that time that the CID officials realised that he was not available,’ he said.
Mr Akpadzi said since the matter was reported to the office, it had not interrogated Andoh but had got information from others connected with the case. The police
Meanwhile, the CID has ordered Andoh’s sureties to produce him on May 28 when he is due to appear before court or face the consequences.
Sources within the department said investigations had revealed that Andoh had failed to report himself to the police since April 17 when he was granted bail. Background
Andoh was arrested on April 11, 2014 following information given to the police by the Chief Executive Officer of Muira Energy, Mr Kareem Abu, to the effect that Andoh, a former administrator of the company, had forged his (Mr Abu’s) signature and that of Mr Buah to engage in a shady oil deal.
When he was arrested, Andoh was first sent to Mr Buah’s office where he confessed his misdeeds.
Investigations by the police revealed that Andoh had first written a letter, purportedly from Muira Energy, with Mr Abu’s forged signature and addressed it to the Ministry of Energy asking for a concession at Cape Three Points to drill oil.
It was dated September 3, 2013.
Andoh forged a letter from the ministry , with Mr Buah’s signature, which stated that he had been granted the concession.
That letter was dated September 24, 2013.
Andoh, according to the police, had been communicating with Gondwana Oil Company of Canada and intended to lure the company into the country with the letter to defraud them, but Abu got wind of the shady deal and caused Andoh’s arrest. Documents forwarded to EOCO
Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, Mr Buah forwarded documents regarding the issue to the EOCO for further investigations.
To determine if the signatures were forged, the police said a forensic examination would be conducted and the suspect properly charged after investigations and put before court. Era of forged signatures?
On Saturday, April 19, 2014, a Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Murtala Mohammed, disclosed on an Accra radio station that the security agencies were investigating a similar incident involving the ministry.
In that particular case, he said, a company had called the ministry to ascertain whether he (Mohammed) had authored a letter recommending a particular group to some investors.
Mr Mohammed stated that he demanded that a copy of the letter be sent to him for perusal and when the letter was faxed, he found out that the signature it bore was different from his.
Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, who was on the same programme on the radio station, stated that that development was not new and indicated that “insiders” in the ministries were most guilty of the practice. – See more at: http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/23510-forgery-of-energy-minister-s-signature-eoco-launches-man-hunt-for-charles-andoh.html#sthash.t6PlXpKx.dpuf
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