The former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority, Adjenim Boateng Adjei has said he got a court order to defreeze his bank accounts before he withdrew the money in them.
In a rejoinder sent to The Fourth Estate, which broke the story, A.B. Adjei’s lawyers, Oriental Law Consult, said he “conducted his affairs within the ambit of the laws of Ghana and has consistently been guided by statute and principles in the discharge of his duties during his tenure in office.”
Below is the full rejoinder issued by the law firm:
We write as solicitors for and on behalf of Mr Adjenim Boateng Adjei (former CEO of the PPA) pursuant to whose instructions we write this letter.
We refer to the above ‘headlined’ publication dated May 18, 2022, and made by ‘The Fourth Estate’ on its website, which denigrates our client’s reputation and paints him as a corrupt person.
It is our considered opinion, that there was a clear misrepresentation of facts in the news bulletin as inaccuracies were captured in the publication.
We wish to inform the general public, that our client was granted access to his bank accounts pursuant to an Order to Defreeze Accounts dated August 19, 2021, by the High Court, Accra in suit numbered; MSFT/078/2019 and titled; “THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR VRS ADJENIM BOATENG ADJEI”, and not, in connivance with bank officials as published. We are reliably informed all his accounts are still active.
We are further informed that the publication sought to create an erroneous impression that, our client had millions of cedis in his personal accounts when the facts clearly show that, the figures being circulated around is only a total turnover of inflows with corresponding outflows. For instance, an initial ¢100,000 deposit can be turnover into millions over a period of time by just withdrawals and re-depositing of same.
The said publication which sought to suggest that, our client had millions of Cedis sitting in his account and had gone to withdraw same dubiously is palpably false and tantamount to making our client vulnerable to attacks that could risk his life.
Our client has always conducted his affairs within the ambit of the laws of Ghana and has consistently been guided by statute and principles in the discharge of his duties during his tenure in office.
Our client, being a firm believer of our justice system and laws, had largely chosen to ignore the malicious publications against his person and fight his case in the court of law.
We have the firm instructions of our client to assure Ghanaians that, at the right time, he will address all issues to do with his tenure as the CEO of PPA and lay bare facts and the truth, buttressed by documentary evidence.
We encourage all media houses to give accurate information to the Public in respect of his tenure as the CEO of PPA and not information for “clicks” in the social media space.
We demand that this rejoinder is given the same prominence as given to the original story.
Leslie Oku, Esq
Cc:
ALL MEDIA HOUSES
AB ADJEI, Accra
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Fourth Estate has published this rejoinder only because we believe in Mr. A.B. Adjei’s right to be heard. We wish to state, however, that there was no factual inaccuracy in our report, as this rejoinder claims.
We said in our report that Mr. A.B. Adjei cleared his accounts after the court lifted the freezing order. We did not make the faintest suggestion in our report that he withdrew the money with the connivance of the banks.
The millions of cedis and US Dollars quoted in our report were also matters of public records from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and a press release by the former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, who revealed how much his office and the Auditor-General’s outfit calculated as inflows into A.B. Adjei’s accounts while he was in office.
There is absolutely no inaccuracy in the report published by The Fourth Estate.
Find below The Fourth Estate’s original story, which has been published by some media outlets.
The Fourth Eatate’s consistent commitment to truth and justice is admirable. You have my unflinching support.
Kudos. You’re indeed the Fourth Estate.
Salute you “The Fourth Estate.” And surprise how a law firm can twist a publication thinking it can’t be noticed. Where in the earlier publication was it said the bank connived with Mr. Adjei to withdraw the funds from his accounts?
The little said about the COURTS the better.
Your cups are full, all those milking our country.