Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on Tuesday denied media reports claiming the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had cleared former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah of corruption, calling the narratives “false” and “misleading.”
In a public notice dated August 19, the anti-graft agency said several outlets had mischaracterized findings from its latest Half-Yearly Report, erroneously stating that the FBI found “no evidence of corruption” or had exonerated the former minister entirely.
“These reports are inaccurate and a mischievous misrepresentation of the OSP’s Half-Yearly Report,” the OSP said, clarifying that its actual findings stated “no direct and immediate evidence of corruption was found”—a phrase the office said reflects a specific legal threshold rather than an all-clear.
The OSP emphasized that while the joint investigative efforts between itself and the FBI yielded no immediate proof of corruption, its inquiries uncovered what it described as “strong indications of suspected money laundering and structuring.” These are financial crimes typically involving the layering of illicit funds to obscure their origin—offenses that fall under the remit of Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
The case had initially been referred to EOCO under its former leadership, which took no action and returned the docket. The OSP noted that the file has since been resubmitted to EOCO following a request by its new leadership.
The OSP also issued a caution to media outlets, urging them to report with greater precision and adhere closely to official documentation when covering matters of national significance.
Cecilia Dapaah came under intense public scrutiny in mid-2023 after authorities discovered large sums of foreign and local currency stashed in her private residence—an incident that sparked widespread public outrage and triggered multiple investigations.
