Should The EOCO Investigate The Purchase Of Overseas Properties Worth Millions Of Dollars By Ghanaians?

Nothing epitomizes better, the disservice being done by a large part of the Ghanaian media world, to Mother Ghana, and to Ghanaian democracy, than the deafening silence that has followed, since news reports began filtering through, online, that a very important personage from Ghana had purchased a property worth some three million pounds sterling in the UK.

In any other jurisdiction, where money laundering from the illicit drugs trade is a huge problem, and tax evasion by the most powerful folk, a common occurrence, journalists would be scurrying on to London-bound jetliners, to investigate such a story: in order to ascertain the true facts on the ground.

But this is Ghana – a nation full of moral cowards and in which truth faces extinction – so nothing much is being done to find out the truth.

The question is: Has it not occurred to the authorities that they owe it to Ghanaians, and the very important personage concerned, to move quickly to establish the truth?

As a charitable soul said to me: “Massa, who knows whether it is not a surprise gift to the very important personage? Perhaps it is from an admirer, who has not even yet told him that such a magnificent property, has been purchased for him: as a present for his years of hard work for the poor in society?”

If that is the case (or even if it isn’t), should the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) not be contacting the relevant UK authorities to establish a paper trail to trace the source of the transaction cash – so that they can tell the very important personage concerned whether or not the transaction is a case of money-laundering: to enable him reject or accept it?

Above all, who knows where such a paper trail will lead, I ask, dear reader? Perhaps it might even lead to the discovery of the ownership of some of the many offshore entities that hide the wealth of those who took part in the gang-rape of Mother Ghana during the tenure of the previous regime.

It would really be an outrage, if it turns out that those whose job it is to investigate such things, in the Ghana High Commission in London, have done nothing about it. If they have not done so, they must move quickly to establish the truth.

Above all, the high commissioner must ensure that it is handled by someone who is loyal to the Ghanaian nation-state, and not to the tribal-supremacist cabal that controlled the previous regime – lest they do what is usually done here in such matters.

Luckily for the very important personage concerned, documents cannot be made to disappear in the UK, like they often do here – a case in point being the VALCO documents that some members of the previous regime, insist, were in the possession of the late Baah-Wiredu (of blessed memory), when he died.

Fancy that – trying to blame a dead man who cannot answer back to defend himself: and who incidentally was so meticulous, and principled, he would never have hidden such an important state document, for any reason. But I digress.

Our very important personage need not worry, if it’s an attempt by persons unknown, to smear him – as the truth will emerge eventually. As we all know, if all his known legitimate sources of income are put together, he will still never be in a position to purchase such a property, for yonks – so if he does deny ever purchasing such a property, we must give some credence to what he says.

On the other hand, there is the little matter of the BBC World Service's Celeste Hicks and the Sunday Times' reporters, being ethical professionals, who are unlikely to do what those Ghanaian journalists who sell their consciences, often do – make up stories because they benefit their paymasters.

So it is a bit of a conundrum – as the cynics amongst us are wont to say in such matters. Well, we shall simply have to wait for the EOCO to investigate this faraway little local difficulty for our very important personage: to find out what the truth really is.

Hopefully, our very important personage will be vindicated – if he has actually said openly that he has never purchased such a property, that is. In any case one can only wish him well.

At the very least, this affair has brought up the question of whether or not, to help fight money-laundering in Ghana, it is necessary for the EOCO to investigate the purchase of expensive properties overseas, by Ghanaian citizens (including even those who occupy the highest positions in society!). Hmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa!

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