The former chairman of the defunct Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng says he found his arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) very strange.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was put under investigation following an invitation given to him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) weeks ago in relation to corruption and illegal mining activities in the country.
The report indicates that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was arrested on May 16, 2023, for alleged involvement in the missing of some 500 excavators and the involvement of Symphony Limited, a company owned by his son, in illegal mining.
It will be recalled that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in the month of April released a lengthy report indicating how some prominent government officials in the country are engaging in illegal mining which has become a canker in the country.
The renowned surgeon in previous interviews noted that he stands by everything in the controversial report on illegal mining he released.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng speaking in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on TV3 concerning his sudden arrest by OSP said he wasn’t aware his investigation will amount to his arrest.
“We waited at the lobby down there [and] that was my first time in that building”.
“We got there around 10 o’clock, waiting for my lawyer. When he came, we were taken upstairs to the 7th Floor or so, where the office is and then we were ushered into a room. I was given a chair and opposite me was the Chief Investigator”.
“Next to me on my right were my two lawyers and then some officers from that Office”, he noted.
“So, as soon as I sat down, the Chief Investigator came to me. I was sitting down, then he put his left hand on my right shoulder and said, ‘Professor, you are under arrest”.
“Why? He said they are investigating corruption and corruption-related activities of the IMCIM that I was chairman of. Any specific thing I had done? No, they are just doing their investigations but all the same, I was under arrest”.
“I found it very strange”, he added.