Adentan: The High Court at Adentan has ordered the unfreezing of bank accounts belonging to Sesi-Edem Company Limited. It has also delivered a decisive ruling that exonerates Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple, founder of the company, and clarifies the limits of the Economic and Organised Crime Office's (EOCO) investigative powers.
According to Ghana News Agency, a statement on the ruling said the decision came after a petition filed by JG Resources Ltd triggered EOCO's intervention, resulting in the freezing of Sesi-Edem's accounts on November 20, 2025, and December 17, 2025, before an ex parte order on January 30, 2026 confirmed the freeze. The Court held that EOCO acted outside its statutory mandate and abused its powers, bringing clarity to a matter that had attracted considerable public attention in recent weeks.
The Court determined that the dispute between Sesi-Edem and JG Resources Ltd stemmed from a private commercial agreement that involved no fraud or money laundering. It emphasized that the matter was purely contractual and therefore outside EOCO's statutory remit. Consequently, EOCO's investigation and the freezing of the company's accounts were ultra vires and legally unsustainable.
In its observations, the Court noted that performance under the Sale and Purchase Agreement was ongoing, with the contractual delivery period yet to expire. It stated that Sesi-Edem was not in breach of contract, and any disputes over delivery schedules are civil matters to be resolved by the civil courts. Furthermore, the Court confirmed that Sesi-Edem was fully authorized to trade in gold, operating under directives issued by the Ghana Gold Board during the transition to the current regulatory regime.
The Court condemned EOCO for serious misconduct, highlighting the agency's failure to obtain judicial approval for its freezing order of November 20, 2025, within the 14-day requirement. EOCO reissued the order on December 17, 2025, without informing the Court about the first order and then sought confirmation using the ex parte procedure, denying Sesi-Edem the opportunity to respond. The ruling declared the re-issued order invalid, underscoring that the extended account freeze was unlawful and an abuse of EOCO's powers.
The statement emphasized that private parties cannot weaponize state investigative powers to settle commercial disagreements, and enforcement agencies like EOCO must operate strictly within their legal mandate. The petition lodged by JG Resources Ltd, which set this chain of events in motion, was firmly rejected as baseless.
The High Court's ruling follows separate orders obtained by Sesi-Edem in December 2025 from the Accra High Court to safeguard funds believed to have been fraudulently obtained from Turkish investors through a forged Sale and Purchase Agreement. This agreement misused the company's name, with JG Resources positioned as the facilitator in whose accounts the funds were to be received.
The decision highlights Sesi-Edem's determined legal defense of its reputation and fully vindicates both the company and its founder, Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple, after weeks of intense public scrutiny. The company's case was led by Knightscild Chambers, whose legal representation proved instrumental in securing this outcome.