The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), under its new leadership, has requested the docket of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for review and renewed investigation. Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng disclosed this during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Mr. Agyebeng stated that the OSP commenced an investigation into Ms. Dapaah and her associates in July 2023, following suspected corruption and corruption-related offences involving large sums of money and valuable items. After a nearly seven-month extensive investigation by the OSP, alongside a parallel inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, no direct evidence of corruption was found concerning funds and bank accounts linked to Mad Dapaah.
However, the investigation identified strong indications of suspected money laundering and extraction beyond the direct mandate of the OSP.
Consequently, in January 2024, the OSP referred the case to EOCO to investigate these identified suspicions of money laundering and extraction, which fall under EOCO’s jurisdiction.
In May 2024, EOCO returned the docket to the OSP, citing that since money laundering is a collateral offence requiring a predicate offence, EOCO lacked the mandate to initiate an investigation without such a foundational offense. On May 29, 2025, the OSP resent the duplicate docket back to EOCO, maintaining that the information served as a valuable background resource for EOCO to commence its own investigation into aspects beyond the OSP’s direct mandate. The OSP has pledged its full collaborative support to EOCO in its review and further investigation.
In a separate development, Mr. Andy Thomas Owusu, the second accused in the case between the Republic and Charles Bissue and another, has negotiated a plea bargain with the OSP, which has been filed in court. The OSP filed criminal charges against them on April 28, 2025, for 15 counts of corruption and corruption-related offenses. Mr. Agyebeng expects the plea bargain processes, described as restitutive and reparative, to conclude in court in the coming days, noting Mr. Owusu’s commendable cooperation during the investigation as a factor in the OSP’s acceptance of his offer of restitution and reparation.
Sankofaonline
