The Deputy Attorney General has revealed that investigators probing ghost names in the National Service Scheme (NSS) have submitted a damning report identifying 22 individuals responsible for the alleged theft of over GHยข560 million.
Dr Justice Srem Sai, speaking on JoyNewsโ PM Express on Wednesday, disclosed that this is just one part of a broader investigation into financial irregularities at the Scheme.
โNational Service is in different aspects,โ he explained. โThereโs an aspect of the projects the secretariat undertakes. They have farms where they acquire property, grow and sell produce. Then thereโs the issue of paying ghost National Service persons.โ
The investigators, he said, have so far only completed their work on the ghost names.
โIt was submitted last week by the investigators. We have started building a docket on that.โ
That specific report, he confirmed, implicates 22 individuals. โWhen the investigators came, they identified 22 accused persons for the ghost names part.โ
The total amount of money involved is staggering. โWe are talking about over GHS560 million. Thatโs what we are looking at from the 22 individuals that investigators believe were responsible for, if you like, alleged loot.โ
But even as the prosecution team begins work on the docket, Dr Srem Sai revealed that not all those accused may end up in court.
โYou have to weigh the cost in terms of time, effort of bringing all these people to court, and the benefit you get of retrieving the money,โ he said.
Some of the suspects, he added, have already shown a willingness to cooperate.
โA lot of them โ only a few are not willing โ but a lot of them are willing to return the money.โ
Furthermore, some are offering to become prosecution witnesses. โSome of them have shown a desire to return the money and to serve as what, prosecution witnesses against the rest.โ
This means the number of people eventually charged will likely drop.
โBefore we go to court, the number will not be 22. It will come down, because we are still having a conversation with these people.โ
He also confirmed that plea bargaining is on the table for some of the accused.
โAfter we charge them, they also have an opportunity to do what we call plea bargaining. To come and say, โWell, we are guilty. But instead of sending us to prison for this number of years, you can come down to this, and we return this amount of money.’โ
Dr Srem Sai said these talks allow the accused to make a case for leniency in exchange for money and testimony.
โThey give us the reasons why we should not go with them through the entire process.โ
He emphasised that the ghost names investigation is only one part of a larger set of probes. More reports are expected on other schemes run by the National Service Secretariat.
For now, though, the focus is on securing recovery and ensuring justice, one conversation at a time, he stated.
Source : Myjoyonline
