Woyome offers $15.5m land to gov’t in exchange for seized properties

The embattled businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, has offered land to the government in exchange for properties seized from him to defray an outstanding  GH¢47.2m debt.

He claimed the land located in the Volta region is worth $15.5million.

His offer comes after he failed to halt the legal process of retrieving all the GH¢51million owed the state.

On Tuesday, a five-member panel presided over by the Chief Justice, Anin Yeboah dismissed an application filed by Mr Woyome to halt the sale.

The embattled businessman, who appeared without any legal representation is convinced there are some irregularities regarding the sale of his properties.

Exclusive photos: Woyome’s Trassaco luxury apartments up for sale

“The document for the two properties is wrongly cited. Some have collateral on them so I have to take up the matter on my own. I have also stated that there was insider dealing.

“I have personally gone to see the judgement creditors to assist in the sale of the said auctioned properties but they turn me away. Nobody is buying my properties for obvious reasons and that is why l want to help.

“Also, the Attorney General’s office has never accorded me an opportunity to resolve this matter,” he argued passionately.

The court, however, insisted that the application filed by Mr Woyome regarding the subject matter was not under any particular rule of court.

The court held that the embattled businessman’s issue was a technical one and thus, the need for him to consult his lawyers.

Background

The Supreme Court, on July 29, 2014, ordered Mr. Woyome to refund GH¢51.2 million to the state on grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.

It was the view of the court that the contract upon which Mr Woyome made and received the claim were in contravention of Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which required such contracts to be laid before and approved by Parliament.

The case leading to the Supreme Court decision was initiated by Mr Martin Amidu, the current Special Prosecutor, in his capacity as a citizen of Ghana.

On March 1, 2016, Mr Woyome prayed the court gives him three years to pay back the money but the court declined to grant his wish.

He, however, refunded GH¢4 million in November 2016 and an additional GH¢600,000 and promised to pay the outstanding balance by quarterly installments of GH¢5 million, commencing April 1, 2017.

That did not materialise after the businessman initiated a litany of legal cases at the apex court challenging the decision for him to pay the money or efforts to execute the judgment, all of which were dismissed.

In a bid to retrieve the money owed the state, the Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, urged the court to permit the state to take ownership of his properties.

This was after the auctioneer had failed to sell the said properties to offset the GH₵ 51.2million debt owed by Woyome.

The auctioneer’s inability to sell the properties was due to fears that the auctioned properties may be given back to the embattled businessman in the near future.

The Deputy A-G subsequently withdrew the application for the state to take ownership after the court directed the state to purchase the properties.

The sale of the properties was ordered by the Supreme Court in June 2019. The selected auctioneer advertised the sale of three earmarked properties in the national dailies.

It identified two executive residential properties at Trassaco Valley off the Spintex road in Accra and another property, No: 372/2 off Cocan Crescent residential area Kpehe on Accra.

The properties initially valued at GH₵ 20million were to be sold off by December 31, 2019.

In December last year,  Woyome obtained a Supreme Court order halting the sale of his properties to defray some GH₵ 47.2 million debt to the state.

The auctioning of one of three identified properties was scheduled to begin that month.

But the businessman has filed for a stay of execution at the Supreme Court, which has also been served on the auctioneer.