Although the Founder of the defunct Capital Bank William Ato Essien escaped jail term, he is still a convict, Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has said.
Per the laws of the land, Mr Kpebu said, Ato Essien as a convict cannot hold any public office or even be a managing director of any bank in Ghana.
Ato Essien was accused of siphoning liquidity support of ¢620 million bailouts given by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
According to the prosecution, the accused persons opened various bank accounts with Capital Bank through which the ¢620 million liquidity support was transferred.
Mr Ato Essien, who pleaded guilty to his charges, cited a former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, on debt recoveries rather than prosecutions.
His repayment proposition was, therefore, agreed to by the presiding judge Eric Kyei Baffour.
Per the terms of the agreement, he is to pay back GH¢90 million in total: an initial GH¢30 million and GH¢60 million in 3 installment to the state.
Commenting on this on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday December 17, Mr Martin Kpebu said although is he is escaping jail term, he will still suffer several losses.
“He cannot be a Minister of State, he can’t be a managing director of any bank, Ghanaians if you see him that way there is red flag,” he said.
He added that Ato Essien will be questioned if he decides to travel to the US or UK because “in filling the travel forms there is a portion that says, ‘have you been convicted of felony?’ Yes, stealing is felony.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana