Charles Bissue ‘Accomplice’ Enters Plea Bargain With OSP

Kissi Agyebeng, Special Prosecutor

 

A businessman accused of receiving bribe to unduly influence Charles Bissue in the discharge of his duties as the Secretary of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), has decided to engage in a plea bargain with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

Andy Thomas Owusu has been charged alongside Mr. Bissue for allegedly using public office for profit by cutting corners to renew the mining licence of a company.

But it has emerged that he has decided to enter into a plea deal with the OSP and possibly return the monies he received as bribes instead of going through a full trial.

It is not clear what the terms of the plea settlement include, but a source has told DAILY GUIDE that Thomas Owusu is looking to avoid jail by risking a full trial, hence his decision to negotiate the plea deal.

The plea negotiation was announced in court yesterday during a case management conference. The case has been adjourned to June 4, 2024.

The two men have been admitted to a bail of GH¢200,000 each with two sureties each, one of whom must be justified.

This was after the two pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of corruption and corruption-related charges filed against them by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

Court documents accuse Bissue of receiving GH¢35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong for the purpose of circumventing established requirements of the IMCIM under its Road Map for Lifting of Ban on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (The Way Forward), 2018.

He is alleged to have ignored laid down procedures in respect of verification of documents, acquisition of relevant permits, demarcation and mapping of concessions, among others, to unlawfully secure a fast-tracked renewal of an expired mining licence to ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation.

Andy Thomas Owusu, on the other hand, is accused of receiving GH¢15,000 from the same Benjamin Adjapong for the purpose of unduly influencing Bissue in respect of the discharge of his duties as the Secretary of the IMCIM, to circumvent established requirements of the IMCIM in fast-tracking the renewal of an expired mining licence to ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation.

Charles Bissue has been charged with three counts of using public office for profit contrary to Section 179C (a) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and three counts of corruption by public officer.

Andy Thomas Owusu has also been charged with three counts of using public office for profit, three counts of corruption by a public officer and another three counts of accepting bribe.

The brief facts of the case, filed before a High Court in Accra, indicate that Benjamin Adjapong, in the course of a sting operation conducted by a private investigative company, Tiger Eye P.I., posed as an officer of ORR Resources Enterprise and approached Andy Thomas Owusu with the design of securing a mining licence for ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation and verification regarding relevant permits, demarcation and mapping of the company’s concession.

Owusu allegedly represented that he was able and willing to unduly influence Charles Bissue to circumvent the vetting and verification process in favour of ORR Resources Enterprise.

The brief facts said in furtherance of the criminal adventure, Owusu demanded from Benjamin Adjapong a fee of GH¢100,000, to be split evenly between him and Bissue.

It continues that the fee was negotiated down to GH¢40,000 apiece, and Bissue received a total GH¢35,000 while Owusu took a total of GH¢15,000.

“As a result of the money paid by Benjamin Adjapong to the First and Second Accused under the criminal enterprise, the First Accused unlawfully secured for and issued ORR Resources Enterprise with a sticker and necessary permits signifying that ORR Resources Enterprise had complied with all lawful requirements to commence mining activities,” the brief facts added.

 

BY Gibril Abdul Razak

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