This follows the successful filing and service of witness statements as well as accompanying exhibits of the two witnesses the office intends to rely on in the trial.

Justice Mary Yanzuh, the presiding judge, after the completion of case management yesterday, adjourned the case to November 29, 2022, for the prosecution to call its first witness.

Adjenim Boateng and Francis Kweku Arhin have been dragged before the court by the Office of the Special Prosecutor over 18 charges of using public office for private profit and benefit, by improperly and unlawfully influencing the outcome of the public procurement process.

The charges for which Mr Adjei is in court relate to several restricted tenders in respect of public works contracts awarded by the Ministry of Works and Housing, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Special Development Initiative, among others.

Francis Kwaku Arhin, though not a public officer, according to court documents, collaborated with A.B. Adjei to corruptly abuse his office for private profit and benefit.

The two pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them and the court granted bail of GH¢5 million each with two sureties to be justified and other conditions.

The facts of the case indicate that Mr Adjei and Mr Arhin established Talent Discovery Limited and used same as their sure bet of winning public contracts in a disingenuous and unlawful design by which the former would employ his position as the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Governing Board of Public Procurement Authority to directly and indirectly improperly influence the outcome of the procurement process in favour of the company.

Mr Arhin was to run the company until the retirement of Adjei from public service, and he will later join the company where they would share the spoils of the contracts sold.

The fact state that Mr Adjei in his capacity as CEO of PPA and a member of the governing board conducted the procurement process in respect of tenders in which Talent Discovery Limited was shortlisted; and he actively participated in the decision-making process leading to the selection of Talent Discovery Limited as the contractor in respect of nine of the tenders, without disclosing his interest as the majority shareholder and a director of the company.

“In an instance, the First Accused (A.B. Adjei) in his capacity as the implementer of the decisions of the Governing Board of Public Procurement Authority, unlawfully altered the decision of the Board in favour of Talent Discovery Limited. The Second Accused (Arhin) acted in collaboration with the First Accused in the unlawful scheme,” the facts added.

Neymar’s father, mother and the family company N&N have also been charged in the case, along with former Santos manager Odilio Rodrigues and Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, the then-president and vice-president of Barcelona respectively.

The case stems from a complaint by DIS, which owned part of Neymar’s transfer rights and alleges that it received less money than it was entitled to when Neymar joined Barcelona.

Investigations were carried out in Spain and Brazil into whether any part of the transfer fee had been concealed and the trial, to be held at the Provincial Court of Barcelona, is scheduled to run until Oct. 31.

Neymar has denied wrongdoing but, in 2017, Spain’s High Court rejected appeals by the player, his parents, N&N and the two clubs, paving the way for the case to go to trial.

State prosecutors had filed an application for Mrs Attionu to be tried in absentia following her failure to attend the trial since October 2021.

However, at Monday’s (May 9, 2022) hearing, the Accra High Court said it would not hear the application for trial in absentia until it determines another application seeking to hold the sureties who guaranteed Mrs Attionu’s bail responsible for her absence.

“I will not determine the application for trial in absentia until the application for forfeiture has been determined,” the presiding judge, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, said.

Missing in action

Mrs Attionu, who is on trial for allegedly causing financial loss of GH¢90 million to the state during her tenure as the CEO of MASLOC (2013 – January 2017), has failed to show up for the trial after being granted permission by the court to travel to the USA for a medical treatment.

She was expected to return to Ghana for the continuation of her trial on October 6, last year, but is yet to show up, a situation that has crippled the trial.

In November, last year, Justice Asare-Botwe expressed her displeasure about the situation and issued a bench warrant for Ms Attionu’s arrest to force her to attend the trial.

Afterwards, the prosecution filed an application for trial in absentia.

It then followed up with an application for forfeiture of recognizance, which is directed at the two sureties who executed Mrs Attionu’s GHC5m bail bond, to show any justification why they should not be made to pay the bail sum due to her absence from the trial.

The two sureties for Mrs Attionu are Alex Mould and Gavivina Tamakloe.

The prosecution withdrew the first application for forfeiture and filed a fresh one.

Application for forfeiture

At the hearing Monday, the prosecutor, Stella Ohena Appiah, a Principal State Attorney, told the court that the two sureties had been informed about the fresh application of forfeiture.

She, therefore, asked the court for a two-week adjournment to enable the prosecution serve the sureties with the application.

The prosecutor also reminded the court about the application for Mrs Attionu’s trial in absentia.

Justice Asare-Botwe, however, told the prosecutor that the court would not hear the application for the trial in absentia until the application for forfeiture had been determined.

Hearing continues on May 24, 2022.

Not guilty

Mrs Attionu is on trial with Daniel Axim, a former Operations Manager of MASLOC, on 78 counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, and contravention of the public procurement act, among other charges.

The two have denied any wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution has accused Attionu of engaging in some illegalities leading to the alleged accused stealing and financial loss.

For instance, it has accused Attionu of embezzling GH¢500,000 that was paid by a company which benefitted from MASLOC support in 2014.

It is also the case of the prosecution that in 2013, following a fire disaster at the Kantamanto Market, then-President John Mahama directed MASLOC to provide assistance of GH¢1.46 million to victims of the disaster but Attionu embezzled part of the money.