By Daniel Nii Okine For Sankofaonline Editorial Board | October 2,2026
Ghana is restless, the air thick with partisan suspicion, and the public’s demand for clarity is now a national roar. A sitting Member of Parliament, Hon. Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, MP, NPP, has been arrested and marched into EOCO’s interrogation chambers; thrust violently into the eye of a financial storm that began as a seemingly harmless corporate investment.When a routine GH¢3.945 million placement mutates into allegations of money laundering, unauthorized settlements, questionable transfers, and a GH¢14.8 million haircut, Sankofaonline must confront the facts without fear, favour, or partisan fog. Daniel Nii Okine breaks down the issues, sentence by sentence, with the confrontational clarity our readers expect.
Ghana has seen scandals, but this one is different. It is not merely a financial dispute, it is a collision of law, authority, political power, and the integrity of state‑affiliated institutions. Yet, amidst the uproar, one constitutional anchor must hold firm. Article 19(2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution guarantees that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a competent court of law. The individuals involved are not criminals, they are subjects of an investigation, and Sankofaonline will not convict anyone in the court of public opinion.
But we will confront the facts.
The Transaction: A Chronology of Debt, Power, and a Settlement That Defies Logic
In 2018, SIC Life Savings and Loans placed GH¢3.945 million with Equity Savings and Loans, and Equity promptly defaulted when the investments matured. By May 2020, SIC hired Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners to recover the funds, with the writ signed by Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah ,now a sitting MP.
By 2022, SIC secured summary judgment, but a judgment is not money, it is merely a legal declaration. So in December 2023, the legal team obtained a writ of fieri facias, attaching Equity’s assets, including a 31.93‑acre Adamorobe land parcel valued at a GH¢25 million reserve price.
This is the point where the case stops being routine, and the smell of impropriety becomes unmistakable. EOCO says Equity had already sold the Adamorobe land to Eco Swiss Investment Limited for GH¢21.76 million while the land was under attachment.
Eco Swiss challenged the attachment in July 2024, and by July 18 a settlement was drafted. Despite a judgment debt of GH¢14.85 million, SIC agreed to accept GH¢5 million ; and Eco Swiss would pay roughly GH¢2.23 million directly in legal fees to the judgment creditor’s lawyer.
This settlement is the beating heart of EOCO’s suspicion.
Where the Red Flags Fly: Sankofaonline Confronts the Anatomy of the Alleged Crimes
A lawyer advising a client to accept a discounted settlement is not criminal.
Judgment enforcement is notoriously difficult.
But EOCO’s intervention signals that they believe this settlement was not merely pragmatic, but potentially unlawful.
Three Red flags demand confrontation.
One: Authority and Willful Financial Loss
EOCO alleges that the settlement was signed by Amma Frimpomaa Dwumah, whose tenure as Managing Director ended in 2021.
They say there is no evidence of SIC Board approval or Ministry of Finance authorization.
Under Section 179A of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29, willfully causing financial loss to the State is a crime.
If a person without lawful authority binds a state‑affiliated institution to forgive nearly GH¢10 million, prosecutors may argue that this constitutes unauthorized depletion of public resources.
This allegation is not trivial, it strikes at the core of corporate governance.
Two:The Money Trail and Alleged Money Laundering
EOCO alleges that Equity paid GH¢611,720.47 to the law firm.
More explosively, they allege that GH¢1 million was transferred from the law firm’s account into Ms Dwumah’s personal account in November 2024.Under the Anti Money Laundering Act, 2020, Act 1044, transferring or disguising the proceeds of a crime constitutes money laundering.If prosecutors argue that the GH¢5 million settlement was illicitly authorized in exchange for a GH¢1 million personal kickback, then that GH¢1 million becomes the proceeds of crime.Routing it through a law firm’s account could be interpreted as an attempt to sanitize the funds.This is the allegation that has electrified the public.
Three: The Temporal Anomaly, Conspiracy and Forgery
The settlement is dated July 18, 2024.Yet it references court filings made on July 24 and August 2.
This raises questions about backdating or fabrication.Under Section 23 of Act 29, conspiracy requires two or more persons acting together with criminal intent.If a legal instrument was altered to facilitate an unauthorized settlement, that may constitute forgery and conspiracy.This anomaly is not cosmetic, it is structural.
The Defense: The Rights of the Accused, and the Constitutional Presumption of Innocence
The accused have mounted a vigorous defense.Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah insists the settlement was executed on his client’s instructions.He argues that recovering actual cash is far more difficult than holding a GH¢25 million reserve price on paper.
He denies receiving GH¢2.23 million personally.His lawyer has condemned EOCO’s search of the law firm, citing confidentiality under the Legal Profession Act.These defenses must be respected.
Accepting GH¢5 million does not automatically prove a GH¢9.85 million loss.Legal fees are not a crime.
A transfer to a former MD is suspicious, but suspicion is not proof.An arrest is not a conviction.
The Ultimate Test of Accountability:Sankofaonline’s Confrontation
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo Markin warns that EOCO may be targeting political opponents.Political witch hunts are real, but the GH¢1 million transfer demands explanation regardless of party colours.As this case moves from EOCO’s offices to the courts, Ghana must demand evidence, not emotion.
What we need
We need bank records.
We need board resolutions.
We need original documents.
We need clarity on authority.
We need clarity on intent.
We need clarity on the dates that defy time.
Ghana is watching
The integrity of our financial institutions, our legal profession, and our anti graft agencies hangs in the balance.
Let the chips fall where they may, but let them fall in a court of law, guided strictly by the evidence.
The best I have read so far about this case . Fair and balanced . Thank you Nii