A senior  Officiall with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council says he will lead a formal petition for presidential clemency on behalf of William Ato Essien, the jailed founder of the now-defunct Capital Bank, citing health concerns and alleged judicial missteps.

Dr. John Apea, Head of Mission for the Council, announced at a press conference on July 10 that he is preparing to collect over 650 signatures in support of a petition seeking a pardon for Mr. Essien, who was sentenced in 2023 for the theft of more than GHS90 million from the bank. Dr. Apea said Essien is currently wheelchair-bound and suffering from deteriorating health.

Calling the conviction a “miscarriage of justice,” Dr. Apea argued that the GHS90 million in question was not stolen but formed part of a liquidity support loan extended to Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana, and not a grant or bailout. He further claimed that the bank had been servicing the loan consistently—at a rate of GHS14.4 million per month—before its license was revoked.

“That GHS90 million is extremely contentious,” Dr. Apea said. “The liquidity support was a commercial loan at 28% interest per annum. Until the bank was closed, it never defaulted.”

He also claimed that Essien, as founder of Capital Bank, was not involved in its day-to-day management and merely acted as a facilitator in securing the central bank loan.

Mr. Essien was convicted in December 2022 for misappropriating bank funds but initially avoided jail time under a restitution agreement approved by the court in line with Section 35 of Ghana’s Courts Act, which allows for non-custodial sentencing if financial loss to the state is repaid.

Under the agreement, Essien paid GHS30 million upfront, with the remaining GHS60 million to be paid in three equal installments by December 2023. However, he missed the first two deadlines, paying just GHS7 million out of the expected GHS40 million by the time of sentencing. The court later revoked the agreement, citing non-compliance, and ordered his imprisonment.

Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, who presided over the case, ruled that Essien can regain his freedom if he clears the outstanding GHS53 million balance. An appeal has been filed to contest the court’s decision.

The petition effort comes as Ghana continues to wrestle with the fallout from a banking-sector cleanup that led to the collapse of several financial institutions, including Capital Bank, and a wave of prosecutions targeting their executives.