Justice Serwaa Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as additional judge of the High Court, has chastised prosecution for failing to take action to extradite Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu to face 78 criminal charges.
Her ladyship, Mrs Asare-Botwe, could not come to terms with how the Republic failed to take advantage of international corporation to have the former Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, brought back home after taken flight to the United States of America one and half years into the trial.
Meanwhile, the fugitive, who had escaped from the jurisdiction of the court on the excuse of being sick, through her actions and architecture caused the state to lose a whopping GH¢90 million.
The judge made the pronouncement minutes before passing sentences on Sedina and her accomplice, Daniel Axim, a former Head of Operations at MASLOC (Microfinance and Small Loans Centre).
She was even more concerned about how the elite use their professional knowledge to steal from state confers and urged the public to raise their children to be patriotic.
“People talk about violent crime and how wicked it is. But if an armed robber comes to your room, he will only take what is available.
“In all my years on the bench and at the bar, I’ve never heard about an armed robber who entered into someone’s from and took 1 million or even 500,000.
“But when you have an educated thief that is capable of causing havoc than someone with AK47 is capable of doing, when you have to buy something and you overprice it to the extent of doubling or tripling the price, those of you in power please have mercy on us,” she lamented.
Her lady stated further that Daniel Axim, who had generated 23 memos on the instructions of Sedina Tamakloe Attionu on the grounds that ‘he did so to save his job’ ought have known better.
Daniel is a highly qualified professional, holding Masters in Business Administration in Petroleum Accounting and had a duty to perform as Head of Operations of MASLOC, therefore, claiming to have repeatedly generated 23 memos on the orders of his boss for sensitisation programmes that never happened was out of place.
Sentence
The court sentenced Sedina to 10years imprisonment in hard labour and Daniel Axim, five years for stealing and conspiracy to steal.Sedina was also sentenced three years and fined 3,000 penalty units (GH¢36,000.00).
In default she will serve two years imprisonment. Daniel was also handed 12 months imprisonment and fined 3,000 penalty units (GH¢12,000.00) for wilfully causing financial loss to the state and conspiring to cause financial loss to the state.
On the charge of causing loss to public property, Sedina was sentenced two years and fined 500 penalty units (GH¢6,000).With improper payment of public funds, the court handed Attionu six months imprisonment.
Sedina was again sentenced for three years for laundering GH¢500,000.00, GH¢2,003,800.00, GH¢579,8000 and GH¢20,780.
The court further fined her 2,000 penalty units (GH¢24,000.00) on this charge.
Convict Axim was also held liable for this crime and was handed two years imprisonment and fined 500 (GH¢6,000.00) penalty units, in default of 12 months.
Sedina Attionu was slapped with two years’ imprisonment and fined 1,000 penalty units (GH¢12,000.00) in default of 12 months for the offense of Contravention of Public Procurement Act.
The court also ordered forfeiture proceedings against Attionu to the state.
Prosecution
Principal State Attorney (PSA) Stella Ohene Appiah told the court that it was not over yet for Sedina, and that the conviction would be used as evidence to process her extradition.
“Prosecution has not ended with A1 (Sedina),” she stated emphatically.
She also linked offences such as this to be the reason Ghana is on its knees at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Meanwhile, politicians are often the main targets for public office corruption.
PSA Stella hoped that the punitive measures would be strong enough to serve as deterrent to others.
The trial
Prosecution called seven witnesses including Sedina’s own driver who collected and sent money to her at private home.
Sedina absconded in July 2021, after having secured her passport from the court to seek medical attention in the States.After failing to return, the prosecution applied to the court to try Sedina absentia.
Facts
Mrs. Attionuwas accused of embezzling GH¢500,000 that was paid by Obaatanpa Microfinance, which benefitted from MASLOC support in 2014.
Also in 2013, following a fire disaster at the Kantamanto Market, then President John Mahama directed MASLOC to provide assistance of GH¢1.46 million to victims of the disaster, but Mrs. Attionu embezzled part of the money.
She also inflated the cost of mobile phones and 350 vehicles way beyond the market price, despite being granted tax waiver.
She also paid herself and Deputy, Mustapha Abubakar, ex-gratia, GH¢135,592.33 and GH¢82,218.75 respectively in January 2017.
In the same month, she also caused to be paid be herself and Deputy, GH¢28,445.94 and GH¢27.486.62 respectively without authorization.
She also embezzled GH¢1,706,000 sensitization and monitoring programme funds for 85,300 beneficiaries.
