The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has asked NDC MP for Ningo Prampram constituency, Sam George to retract and apologize for his “unguarded and irresponsible utterance” about the sector without offering any proof whatsoever.
A stetement issued by the Executive Council of GREDA and sighted by , said their attention has been drawn to a recent broadcast where Sam George made a very unfortunate and defamatory statement, to wit “REAL ESTATE BUSINESS IN GHANA IS MONEY LAUNDERING”.
“Members of our Association are hardworking Ghanaians who every day have to battle with the Economic conditions in the country as every other business sector is doing.
“It is therefore an affront to our genuine hardworking members for this Honorable MP to make such an unguarded and irresponsible utterance without offering any proof whatsoever.
“We demand an immediate unqualified apology and retraction of this unfortunate statement within 7 days of this press statement,”
Read full statement below
Our attention has been drawn to a recent Broadcast aired on Joy F.M and Joy T.V. on Saturday July 22, 2023 and also appearing in the mainstream electronic and print media, in which on the Program “Joy News File”, The Honorable, Sam George – Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram – made a very unfortunate and defamatory statement, to wit “REAL ESTATE BUSINESS IN GHANA IS MONEY LAUNDERING”.
We the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association take umbrage at this comment.
We wish to inform Sam George that we work closely with EOCO/FIC (Financial Intelligence Centre) as well as other parallel state agencies in their work as implementers of the Anti-Money Laundering Law, AML (Act 749) as amended.
We continue to engage and collaborate with them by way of numerous workshops and seminars for GREDA members to build our capacity and ensure compliance with the law.
Members of our Association are hardworking Ghanaians who every day have to battle with the Economic conditions in the Country as every other business sector is doing.
Members of GREDA contribute significantly to the Economy, among others, we provide roofs over the heads of Ghanaians and this is helping to reduce the housing deficit. We also create employment for both skilled and unskilled labor in this country.
It is therefore an affront to our genuine hardworking members for this Honorable MP to make such an unguarded and irresponsible utterance without offering any proof whatsoever.
We demand an immediate unqualified apology and retraction of this unfortunate statement within 7 days of this press statement.
We however, wish to serve him notice and notice is hereby served that we reserve our right to seek legal redress should he not retract his unfortunate comments and apologize accordingly.
Issued by.
Executive Council of GREDA.
Sam George’s Concerns Over Money Laundering In Real Estate Sector
The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George has voiced scepticism regarding the legitimacy of numerous real estate businesses in Ghana.
In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he asserted that the real estate industry is often used as a front for money laundering activities.
According to Mr George, individuals employ real estate ventures as a means to “clean” illicitly acquired funds.
He expressed concerns about the inflated costs of real estate properties in Ghana, particularly high-rise buildings being sold at exorbitant prices. The MP suggested that these properties are often exchanged among individuals involved in money laundering schemes, effectively “cleaning” the money in the process.
Moreover, George claimed that the funds generated from such activities are subsequently used to finance political campaigns. These assertions come in the wake of a recent report by the Chronicle newspaper, detailing a theft case involving significant sums of money.
“Real estate business in Ghana is money laundering. If our authorities want to deal with it, they will deal with it,” he said.
He added that, “the cost of real estate in Ghana is not justifiable by any stretch. You keep seeing all these new high-rise buildings going up and they are selling them for half a million, a million dollars and they keep buying and buying amongst themselves… I have dirty money to clean, I put up a real estate property, you have dirty money you come and buy the property from me and then automatically your money becomes clean, then tomorrow you also start building your own then I come back and buy and we are just cleaning the money.”
Source:
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