By Ashiadey Dotse
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), has pleaded not guilty to charges of causing financial loss to the state.
He appeared before the court on Monday after missing two earlier sessions due to reported health issues.
Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi is facing trial alongside Solomon Asamoah, the former Chief Executive Officer of GIIF. The two are accused of illegally transferring $2 million of public money into a private account belonging to Africa Investor Holdings.
The money was meant to support a proposed Sky Train project. However, according to prosecutors, the transfer was done without proper approval and ignored legal procedures, leading to financial loss.
Background
The Attorney General’s Office earlier this month formally charged Mr. Solomon Asamoah and Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi for their roles in the controversial Accra Sky Train project, which allegedly cost the state $2 million without authorization.
The charges, filed on May 13 at the Accra High Court (Criminal Division), include wilfully causing financial loss to the state under the Criminal Offences Act, conspiracy to commit a crime through intentional dissipation of public funds, and intentional dissipation of public funds under the Public Property Protection Decree.
Prosecutors allege that in February 2019, the accused authorised a $2 million payment from GIIF to Africa Investor Holdings Limited for preliminary work on the Sky Train project – a system that was never built.
The payment was reportedly made without proper board approval.
The Sky Train project, initiated in 2018 as a public-private partnership for an urban rail system in Accra, involved a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Railways Development, Africa Investor Holdings, and GIIF.
However, investigations revealed the $2 million disbursement lacked proper due diligence and violated GIIF’s governance protocols.
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