Businessman Ibrahim Mahama was ordered by the Economic and Organised Crime (EOCO) to deposit his passport with the state investigative body.
This came after he was invited by EOCO to answer questions over some dud cheques he issued to the customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the Tema Port to clear some heavy duty equipment he had imported.
Commenting on the development, a financial consultant, Mr. Korankye Antwi explained that, issuance of a dud cheque could be deliberate or an oversight.
He said, such an action is a criminal offence and comes with sanctions including a 10 percent charge on the amount.
He noted, if it is indeed true that, the businessman issued a total of 44 dud cheques in 2016, then it raises a lot of serious questions and `quizzed why the GRA failed to take action.
He stressed, it is a criminal offence to even issue one dud cheque and so if it is true that he [Ibrahim Mahama] issued 44 dud cheques in 2016, then the GRA must be questioned why they failed to act.
Lawyer Maurice Ampaw, a private legal practitioner was also emphatic that, a criminal offence should not be covered up irrespective of the person involved. He said, Ibrahim Mahama should be charged for deceiving a public officer.
According to him, this case should not be treated out of court. ‘’Nana Addo and the NPP should not treat Ibrahim Mahama with kid gloves. Ghanaians will punish them dearly if they fail to punish Ibrahim Mahama for issuing a dud cheque.’’ He further called on the NDC to allow due process to be followed in this case to ensure that, Ibrahim Mahama is punished.
He also charged the judiciary to learn from the criticism pounced on them by the NDC following the case involving the Delta Force and deal with this case holistically. ‘’The law is no respecter of person.
The NPP must deal with the case without fear or favour…The people are calling for accountability.
The people are calling for corrupt officials to be punished. We should not go in for a settlement because this is a criminal offence.
Crime has no political colour and the one who committed that crime, must be punished,’’ he added.
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