By Beatrice Oppon
Former CEO of the Public Procurement Authority, PPA Adjenim Boateng Adjei who is before the Court for procurement breaches has pleaded not guilty to four new counts of using public office for profit and another four counts of indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
The new charge sheet was filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor at the High Court in Accra, April 17, 2023. Mr Adjei was first put before the High Court in May 2022 on seventeen charges.
In respect of the new charges, Justice Marie-Louise Simmons granted the accused bail in the sum of four million cedis with two sureties to be justified with landed property.
The Court ordered that the Registrar of the Court confirm with the relevant authorities the authenticity of the documents.
The sureties are to also produce copies of their Ghana cards.
Mr Adjei was ordered to produce every passport that he has to the Registrar of the Court who will confirm the relevant passport and the existence of any other passport in the name of the accused person.
Justice Simmons directed that a copy of the bail bond should be given to the prosecution for easy access.
The Prosecution was also ordered to file all disclosures and serve on the accused person. Per the facts before the Court, the Office of the Special Prosecutor intends to establish that three months after he was appointed CEO of the Public Procurement Authority, Mr Adjei allegedly established Talent Discovery Limited as a majority shareholder and Director.
Principal Attorney Adelaide Kobiri Woode said the company participated in several restricted tenders organised by some government agencies.
She said Mr. Adjei at a time allegedly altered the decision of the Governing Board of PPA in favour of his company. She states further that the former PPA boss improperly and unlawfully conducted and participated in tendering processes in awarding government contracts to Talent Discovery Limited without disclosing that he was a major shareholder of the company.
The OSP said the accused benefited personally through the use of public office for profit and influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage.
The case continues on May 14, 2024.