Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, said Monday that his office remains committed to prosecuting individuals accused of looting state resources but acknowledged that securing custodial sentences in every case may not always be feasible.
“Make no mistake about my intentions — I want to jail persons who have looted state resources,” Dr. Ayine said during a press briefing at the Presidency, part of the government’s ongoing Accountability Series. “But I am pragmatic enough to know that it is not in every instance that that is possible.”
In cases where criminal convictions may prove difficult, Dr. Ayine said his office would pursue non-conviction-based asset recovery as an alternative path to justice. He stressed that recovering stolen funds remains a central pillar of Operation Recovery All Loots (ORAL), the government’s anti-corruption initiative.
Citing the recent investigation into Kwabena Adu-Boahene, a former Director of the National Signals Bureau, Dr. Ayine reiterated his willingness to negotiate plea deals with individuals found to have misappropriated state resources. “I will not shut the door to any accused person willing to enter into negotiations with my office for purposes of reaching a plea agreement,” he said.
While emphasizing that jail time and asset recovery are not mutually exclusive, the Attorney-General noted that effective plea bargaining often involves compromise. “Anyone familiar with plea negotiations knows that it’s rare to enter a negotiation room and exit without yielding something to secure an agreement,” he said.
Under Ghana’s Courts Act of 1993 (Act 459), specifically Section 35, accused persons may plead guilty and make restitution in cases involving harm to public property. In such instances, courts may issue non-custodial sentences—a provision Dr. Ayine says has been underutilized for decades.
“As Attorney-General, I will not oppose the use of Section 35 to achieve the objectives of ORAL,” he added.
Dr. Ayine’s remarks suggest a dual-track approach in Ghana’s ongoing anti-corruption efforts—balancing deterrence through prosecution with strategic asset recovery to recoup public funds.
