The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Raymond Archer, has dismissed claims that two lawyers linked to the ongoing PDS investigations were arrested while representing their clients, insisting that the lawyers had earlier been invited by investigators as suspects.
Speaking on Newsfile monitored by The Chronicle, Mr. Archer explained that the investigations into the controversial Power Distribution Services (PDS) transaction are being jointly conducted by EOCO and the BNI.
According to him, the current investigation was triggered by a petition from the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), and not directly by campaign statements previously made by President John Dramani Mahama concerning the PDS scandal.
“Let me just clarify that the PDS investigation is a joint investigation between the BNI and EOCO,” he stated, adding that the case under investigation is “predicated on a petition from the Financial Intelligence Centre.”
Mr. Archer strongly rejected assertions that lawyers from the law firm Minka-Premo & Co. were arrested after visiting EOCO to represent their clients.
“It is not true that the lawyers came to represent their clients and then they were arrested. That is not true,” he stressed.
He explained that lawyers Sophia Akuffo and Mr. Premo had earlier been invited by investigators as suspects, but rescheduled their appearance because officers handling the matter were reportedly unavailable on the initial day.
According to him, when the lawyers later arrived at EOCO premises, they were processed in connection with the investigation as suspects, while another legal team represented the other individuals under investigation.
“We don’t invite lawyers. We invite suspects and then they come with their lawyers,” Mr. Archer clarified.
He further disclosed that senior lawyer Mr. Premo was later granted bail on health grounds after reportedly falling ill during the process.
Mr. Archer defended the controversial bail conditions imposed on the suspects, arguing that the amounts reflected the gravity of the issues under investigation.
“When you hear bail, people should not focus on the amount. People should focus on what is at stake,” he stated.
Though reports circulating in the media suggested that some GH¢850 million belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) may have gone missing from a CalBank account, the EOCO boss declined to confirm the figure.
He cautioned against speculation and insisted that investigators were still examining the facts contained in the petition before them.
“The fact that somebody says GH¢100 million is missing from CalBank does not necessarily mean it is true,” he noted.
Mr. Archer also distanced EOCO’s ongoing investigation from public commentary and political discussions surrounding the failed PDS concession agreement.
“There could be 20 investigations into PDS,” he said, stressing that the present case is tied strictly to a “specific petition” currently under investigation.
The EOCO Executive Director maintained that investigators were conducting a “very professional and methodical investigation” and warned against what he described as misinformation capable of prejudicing the probe.
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