The Special Prosecutor has slapped the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Agyenim Boateng Adjei with seventeen (17) charges.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he was arraigned before the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Wednesday.
Mr. Adjei Boateng denied seven (7) counts of using Public office for profit and ten (10) counts of directly and indirectly influencing the Public Procurement process using his office.
The second accused person Francis Kwaku Arhin also pleaded not guilty to one Count of using Public officer for profit.
Both have been granted bail in the sums of Five Million Ghana cedis (GH¢5 million) each with two sureties to be justified by the court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Nsenkyire.
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng, who represented the state did not oppose the grant of bail.
Award-winning investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni is satisfied with the decision against Mr. Adjei who was netted in his ’contract for sale’ documentary.
The investigation revealed that a company known as Talent Discovery Limited (TDL), owned by a former Public Procurement Authority (PPA) boss, Adjenim Boateng Adjei was getting government contracts through restricted tendering and selling those contracts to others for profit.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Awumi said he is happy the expose’ has not been left to die like others in the past.
“I want to commend the authorities for the swift response on this case. President Akufo-Addo within two days suspended him [Adjenim Boateng] after the investigation and sacked him after CHRAJ’s recommendation.
“I believe some of us wouldn’t have had problems with Akufo-Addo if he had handled all corruption cases in the past this way. There are some that we have done that didn’t travel this far though there was enough evidence for the state to have gotten a conviction,” he said.
Embattled Mr. Adjei has been charged with eight counts of using public office for profit and nine counts of directly and indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
