A-G Chases Four for Looting State Coffers

By Inusa Musah

Daniel Yaw Domelevo, Auditor General (A-G), says four people would soon be hauled before court for various financial infractions, but refused to give their details to journalists who he addressed in Accra yesterday.

"It is against the provisions of the Audit Act to do so, until we prepare and give Parliament all the details on the progress of our work for the Ghanaian public," explaining why he would not give out their names

There are seven more persons whose, the A-G said, certificates for surcharging are being reviewed by his outfit, saying that they, too, would be chased for the collection of any illicit financial flows (IFFs) they had been involved in.

The Ghana's supreme audit institution, the Audit Service, is aggressively pursuing the four he earlier mentioned to pay back monies lost to the state, following an order by the Supreme Court on June 14, 2017. Mr. Domelevo told news personnel, at a press conference on the AG's work so far on surcharges, that the June 14 Supreme Court's direction had empowered the service to lace its boots and chase any person found guilty of cash irregularities.

Since 1993, the move by the A-G to surcharge persons who incur or authorise IFFs has been a rare progress, consequently, Mr. Domelevo said the Supreme Court's order to the Auditor-General has woken it to its responsibility enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.

In this regard, he said the Audit Service had moved a step further to train 16 officers, including himself, in Forensic Auditing, in order to build files on each case, with supporting documents to grab state looters in public positions and private institutions who have some accounts to render to the state.

Daniel Yaw Domelevo said the Ghana Audit Service would collect any monies owed the state by individuals with interest, and suggested that the Attorney General goes further to prosecute all money looters for their infractions.

He said: "For months now, the department has been doing a lot of work to make a case, by gathering evidence capable of standing its grounds in court, should an aggrieved party decide to challenge the surcharge.

"Audit reports are not sufficient evidence to surcharge a person indicted in our reports, therefore, the need for some forensic auditing to establish a prima facie case against such persons.

"I want to score 100% success in the cases in which a surcharge is determined."

He said the practice of surcharge is new to the department, therefore, guidelines are being developed to help other senior management members, and later decentralised to the regional auditing heads who would also issue a certificate of surcharge.

He warned his staff not to engage in personal economic recovery programmes, saying: "The Audit Service is ready to withstand any political salvo. It is not because [we] don't like anybody... we are only doing our work. I owe my allegiance to Ghana."

Daniel Yaw Domelevo, in conclusion, said the service hasd strong backups to retrieve any documents that might be lost, should any nation-wrecker set the outfit ablaze, adding, "I have pledged not to compromise in the department's fight to protect the public purse."

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