Former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame has accused his successor, Dr. Dominic Ayine, of misleading the public about the government's recovery efforts in the long-running UniBank case, alleging that not a single cedi has been reclaimed since charges were dropped earlier this year.
In a strongly worded statement issued Monday, Mr. Dame challenged Dr. Ayine’s rationale for entering a nolle prosequi—a legal decision to halt prosecution—against UniBank founder Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and seven others, calling the move legally dubious and unsupported by any concrete gains for the state.
“Dr. Ayine ought not to mislead the public into thinking that through some unprecedented genius, he has recovered assets or money for the State,” Mr. Dame said, directly contesting Ayine’s claim that asset recovery progress had informed the decision to end the case.
The criticism marks a sharp escalation in political and legal tensions over the handling of financial sector prosecutions, a signature initiative of the previous Akufo-Addo administration. Mr. Dame, who spearheaded multiple prosecutions following Ghana’s sweeping financial sector cleanup, maintained that all known assets tied to Dr. Duffuor and affiliated parties had already been identified by receivers appointed by the Bank of Ghana during his tenure.
“The Receiver already had a full list and profile of assets owned by them,” he said, adding that no new recoveries had occurred under the current Attorney General’s leadership.
Mr. Dame also questioned the legality of Ayine’s stated plan to rely on previously catalogued assets to offset liabilities linked to the collapsed lender, arguing that the approach lacked statutory basis. “This arrangement is not pursued under any law,” he stated. “It is only pursuant to the exercise of Ayine’s power of nolle prosequi.”
The UniBank prosecution was among the most high-profile cases to emerge from Ghana’s banking sector reforms, which saw several institutions shuttered and placed under receivership. Critics of the discontinuation argue it signals waning momentum in the fight against alleged corporate malfeasance, while government officials insist the case had become legally untenable.
