Adu-Boahene Trial: Defence questions witness on bank transfers

The defence in the ongoing trial involving Kwabena Adu-Boahene and others on Monday questioned Madam Mildred Donkor, third prosecution witness (PW3), over a series of bank transfers reflected in documents before the court.

During further cross-examination by Samuel Atta-Akyea, counsel for the accused persons, the witness was taken through transactions allegedly involving transfers from the accounts of Advantage Solutions Limited.

Counsel for the defence referred the witness to a transaction dated July 9, 2018, involving a transfer of GH¢1.7 million allegedly in favour of Mr Adu-Boahene.

Madam Donkor responded that, per the document shown to her, it indicated a transfer of GH¢1.7 million in favour of Adu-Boahene.

The witness was also referred to another transaction dated December 3, 2018, involving a transfer of GH¢402,000 to an account linked to Mr. Adu-Boahene.

She confirmed that the amount appeared on the face of the document presented to her in court.

Mr. Atta-Akyea suggested to the witness that the transfers, if effected by the bank, would naturally be reflected in Mr. Adu-Boahene’s account.

Madam Donkor maintained that the transactions were undertaken based on instructions she received and that the bank, not herself, generated the statements.

She told the court that whenever instructions were received from her superiors and acted upon, the resulting entries and statements were generated by the bank.

The defence further referred the witness to portions of Exhibit 7, where entries reflecting the GH¢1.7 million transaction and another credit entry of GH¢402,000 appeared.

The witness confirmed that they saw those entries on the document.

Counsel also drew attention to a transaction involving a transfer of GH¢1,650,000 to Fidelity Bank in favour of the Director of BNC Communications Bureau Limited.

Madam Donkor confirmed that the document reflected a “high value transfer” to Fidelity Bank linked to Adu-Boahene.

During proceedings, disagreement arose between Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, the Deputy Attorney-General for the prosecution, and the defence over the interpretation of portions of the document.

The prosecution objected to a question posed by the defence, arguing that counsel was “harassing” the witness.

However, Mr. Atta-Akyea rejected the claim, insisting that he was only pursuing the truth through his line of questioning.

The witness maintained that she only read what appeared on the document before her.

When asked about the closure of the BNC Communications Bureau Limited account at Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), Madam Donkor said she could not remember the specific date.

However, she acknowledged that if an email concerning the closure of the account had been sent, it would have been done on the instructions of Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife.

The defence sought to tender an email allegedly relating to the closure of the account, but the prosecution objected on grounds of relevance.

The defence argued that the document was relevant because the account in question allegedly received GH¢49.1 million, which formed part of the prosecution’s money laundering allegations.

Counsel further argued that the document demonstrated the account remained operational beyond 2020 and could assist the court in determining whether it had been opened for criminal purposes, as alleged by the prosecution.

The court, presided over by Justice Eugene Nyante Nyadu, indicated that it would consider the document’s relevance to the charges before it, including the money-laundering allegations involving Advantage Solutions Limited.

The matter was adjourned to May 26, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)