The Attorney-General has filed an application at the High Court seeking to overturn an earlier order that allowed the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, the first accused in the Buffer Stock case, to travel to the United Kingdom for specialist medical treatment.
The latest court move comes shortly after Mr Aludiba was granted bail by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) following his arrest.
According to a case update posted on Facebook by Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), the application seeks to set aside the court’s June 29 order permitting Mr Aludiba to travel outside the jurisdiction.
The application is based on fresh developments suggesting that he allegedly attempted to access funds that had been frozen.
The prosecution argues that the attempted withdrawal was in breach of Section 37 of the Economic and Organised Crime Office Act, 2010 (Act 804), which prohibits transactions involving property or funds subject to a freezing order.
“It is the position of the Attorney-General that these material facts, which were not before the Court when the travel order was made, may materially influence the Court’s decision regarding its order granting leave for the first accused to travel outside the jurisdiction,” the statement said.
The Attorney-General’s Office said it has taken the earliest opportunity to place the new developments before the court and invite it to reconsider the travel order in the interest of justice.
It stressed, however, that the application forms part of the ordinary legal processes available under Ghanaian law where there are material changes in circumstances after a judicial order and does not amount to a prejudgment of the substantive case before the court.
Mr Aludiba continues to enjoy the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
The case forms part of the ongoing prosecution in the Buffer Stock matter, in which Mr Aludiba and another accused person are standing trial over alleged financial offences.
The High Court is expected to hear the application in due course.
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