[ 2014-07-22 ]

State Attorney fumbles in Woyome case
Mathew Amponsah, the prosecuting State Attorney in
the trial of the National Democratic Congress
(NDC) bankroller, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, yesterday
appeared to be fumbling in the cross-examination
of the ‘judgement debt’ man.

The experienced principal State Attorney kept
repeating questions on the appointment of Woyome
as Honorary Consul of Austria to Ghana and his
role as Alternate Director of M-Powapak –
prompting the Accra Financial Court judge, Justice
John Najet-Assam, to state that “there are more
pressing issues that need to be addressed so move
on and ask another question”.

The Attorney, under 40 minutes of
cross-examination, left a smiling Woyome and his
legal team a confident side and remarked, “My
Lord, we have done a lot today” adding, “My
aim was to end up on the question of whether or
not he paid taxes on the money he received”.

Amponsah started by asking Woyome for the alleged
fraudulent receipt of GH¢51.28 judgement debt
that as an Honorary Consul member, he travelled a
lot; to which he answered in the affirmative.

He then suggested that claims by Woyome that he
put offices in Europe and America could not have
been possible; but accused said he indeed put up
offices as evidenced by Waterville and explained
that the issue was never in doubt.

He further asked Woyome what his duties entailed
which he explained. He was asked whether or not he
was involved in the issuing of passports, to which
he said he was involved in looking at some
passport applications.

The issue of his duties was repeated and that
prompted the trial judge to intervene saying,
“next question please”.

Mr. Amponsah asked the NDC money bag whether or
not the letters of support were issued by Bank of
Austria and why he could file on his own. In
resoponse, he said he filed the bid for the
Confederation of African Nations (CAN) 2008
tournament for using M-Powapak, which he is the
Alternate Director, but maintained that in
business circles one could be an entity.

This prompted the State Attorney to suggest that
it was not possible so the trial judge had to once
again cut the issue short by stating that at the
end of the day the court would look at the meaning
of the word ‘entity’ and asked for the state
to move on.

Mr. Amponsah put it to Woyome that it was illegal
for him to have used the name of M-Powapak for his
business since he was an alternate director and
not the owner, and Woyome replied that he had
never seen such laws that made it an offence to do
so.

The NDC bankroller stated that he did not claim to
own M-Powapak but was the owner of the M-Powapak
Togo SA; and when asked how many companies he had,
he stated that they “are many; I cannot readily
count them”.

The State Attorney said the accused person
received the money fraudulently, but Woyome
replied that that was a decision taken at the
pre-trial state by the Attorney-General to have
the matter settled by paying him after the default
judgement, adding that it was a court of competent
jurisdiction that gave the judgement.

According to the State prosecutor, whether or not
it was the A-G who ordered the payment, it was
illegal. Woyome rebutted saying it was legal and
that it did not matter whether or not the State
later changed its mind.

Amponsah finally asked whether or not Woyome had
paid taxes on the money he received from the
State; to which the accused explained that he was
reliably informed by his lawyers that once it was
judgment debt there was no tax to be paid on it.

The case has been adjourned to July 24, 2014.

Source - Daily Guide

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