Fraud charges against Duffuor, Asiama misplaced – Lawyer

The lawyers for Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and his son Kwabena Duffuor Jnr have expressed shock over charges proffered against them by the state following the collapse of now-defunct uniBank.

Together, the accused persons are facing a total of 68 charges including fraudulent transactions and money laundering.

Dr. Duffuor, according to the charges, dishonestly appropriated the sum of GH¢48,269,477.75 which was entrusted to him in trust for depositors of uniBank Ghana Limited in 2014.

His son, Kwabena Duffuor II, is also alleged to have dishonestly appropriated the sum of GH¢164,051,706.14 which was entrusted to him in trust for depositors of uniBank Ghana Limited in 2015.

The two are facing multiple charges of dishonestly appropriating investors’ money, as well as laundering money belonging to the bank.

Again, Kwabena Duffuor II, Ekow Nyarko Dadzie-Dennis and Benjamin Ofori are said to have falsified the accounts of uniBank to reflect various sums – GH¢601,305,250, GH¢227,450,000, GH¢102,000,000 and $71 million of money as loans.

But the lawyers have said the charges are misplaced.

Lawyer for Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Charles Puozuing said in an interview on Eyewitness News that: “Whatever is being discussed, we have no knowledge. We have also not been invited; as to when we are supposed to appear in court to be charged or for the charges to be read to us…Dr. Duffuor is not guilty of these [charges],” he said.

Also, a lawyer for Kwabena Duffuor II, Edudzi Tamakloe, said: “The facts that are attached to the charge sheet does not constitute evidence. We will consider these charges at the appropriate circumstance before the court. We will respond to each one of them.”