The Accra High Court has accepted an agreement for William Ato Essien, the founder of the defunct Capital Bank, to pay GHC 90million to the state as restitution.
As part of the agreement, Essien who is standing trial for stealing GHC192.5m of depositors fund, has already paid GHC30m to the state and will pay the remaining GHC60m in GHC20m three instalments by the close of 2023.
The court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, accepted the agreement pursuant to Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), which allows accused persons standing trial for causing financial loss to the state to pay the money and possibly avoid a custodial sentence.
Justice Kyei Baffour who initially rejected the agreement, accepted it today after it was explained to him that the state had already recovered Ghc101.2m of the GHC192.5m with the remaining amount being GHC92.5m.
Also, it came out that an amount of GHC35m was repeated twice on the charge sheet, meaning Essien actually has GHC57.5m to pay, meaning the GHC90m being paid by him was in excess of GHC32m, which will be interest on the amount to the state.
As part of the agreement, Essien also pleaded guilty to 16 counts of stealing and money laundering.
Justice Kyei Baffour, then moved in to his chambers to write a new judgment taking into consideration the agreement between Essien and the prosecution.
Meanwhile, the two other accused persons have been acquitted and discharged.
Also Read: Capital Bank case: Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, Tetteh Nettey acquitted and discharged
