Accra: Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai has dismissed claims that the criminal case against former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene is complex, asserting that the prosecution's allegations are clear-cut and focus on the alleged diversion of public funds into a private account.
According to Ghana Web, Dr Srem-Sai, speaking on Joy News, emphasized that there is an intentional narrative being pushed to depict the case as more intricate than it is. "I think there's a very determined public campaign, media campaign, to create an impression. It's a simple case, Samson," he stated.
Adu-Boahene, along with his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng, Mildred Donkor, and Advantage Solutions Limited, is facing trial on 11 charges, including stealing, money laundering, defrauding by false pretences, and wilfully causing financial loss to the state. These charges, initiated by the Attorney General in April 2025, allege that approximately GHS49 million allocated for cyber defence software was illegally redirected from the National Signals Bureau for personal use. All accused have entered not guilty pleas.
Dr Srem-Sai explained that the prosecution's case hinges on evidence showing that public funds were transferred from a government account to a private account under the guise of purchasing state defence equipment. He stated, "There is public money in a public account. You have moved the public money from the public account into a private account and told the bank which did the transaction that you are using the money to go and purchase defence equipment for the state."
Further allegations by the Deputy Attorney General suggest that the funds were used for personal asset acquisition rather than national security equipment. "The evidence shows from the account into which you deposited the money that you spent the money to buy houses for yourself and other high-end cars which you were renting and using for your own good," he claimed.
Dr Srem-Sai insisted that such actions constitute public financial offences, stating, "Our case is simple. You cannot do this with public money. It amounts to stealing or causing financial loss or any of the public financial offences. That is what we are charging for."
He also revealed that an initial defence explanation suggested that the funds were repayments for loans allegedly provided by Adu-Boahene to a public institution. "They first started by saying that it was a loan. I'm sure you heard about that, that he gives loans to the public institution, and so the money moving back into his account is a repayment of the loan," he mentioned.
The trial is ongoing at the High Court, where the prosecution aims to establish that funds intended for national security equipment procurement were misappropriated for private gain. The accused continue to deny all charges and, under Ghanaian law, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.