National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Bia East Constituency, Richard Acheampong has been sued by leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party and private legal practitioner Gabby Asare Otchere Darko.
The suit follows comments made by the MP, alleging Mr. Otchere Darko’s connection with a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties Limited, established by the Minerals Income Investment Fund to help the government monetize the country’s gold royalties on the London Stock Exchange.
Though Gabby Asare Otchere Darko has refuted reports of his involvement and connection with the company, he is seeking from the court “general damages for libel contained in the defendant’s publication of the plaintiff indorsed on the writ of summons by way of an attachment and set out in paragraph 7 above.”
The writ further sought “Aggravated damages arising from libel published by the defendant of the plaintiff indorsed on the writ of summons by way of an attachment and set out in paragraph 7 above” and “costs, including lawyers’ fees.”
According to the former Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, his reputation, particularly as a lawyer has been egregiously damaged and he has suffered debilitating distress and embarrassment following the utterances.
Mr. Richard Acheampong is reported to have said in a radio interview that Mr. Otchere Darko “is corrupt and he engages in reprehensible clandestine dealings with the President of the Republic and other members of his family to arrogate or convert public funds and the ownership of public companies to himself.”
This claim, the plaintiff noted is absolutely false and an attempt by the MP to create the impressions that he “is a detestable, distasteful and nepotistic person who engages in publicly opprobrious practices by appropriating state-owned assets and funds by employing his blood ties with the President of the Republic.”
It will be recalled that Government of Ghana, through the Minerals Income Investment Fund, established Agyapa Royalties Limited, a limited liability company to receive money Ghana is supposed to earn from gold royalties.
In exchange, the company will be raising between $500 million and $750 million for the Government of Ghana on the Ghana and London Stock exchanges to invest in developmental projects.
