The Accra High Court has granted a one-week adjournment in a significant corruption case to allow the completion of a plea bargain requested by Andy Thomas Owusu, the second accused in the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) case against former government official Charles Bissue.
During Thursday’s hearing, state prosecutors informed Justice Kwame Asante that substantive discussions were underway with legal representatives of businessman Andy Thomas Owusu, who faces multiple corruption-related charges alongside Bissue.
Background
The two are standing trial for their alleged involvement in 15 criminal charges filed by the OSP.
The charges, filed at the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra on April 28, allege that between January and February 2019, Mr. Bissue, while serving as Secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), corruptly accepted bribes totalling GH₵35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong—both directly and through Owusu—to fast-track the renewal of an expired mining licence for ORR Resources Enterprise without proper documentation.
In return, Bissue allegedly issued fraudulent permits and stickers declaring ORR Resources compliant with mining regulations.
These allegations stem from the widely publicised Galamsey Fraud investigation, as documented in the 2019 Tiger Eye P.I. report.
Although Mr. Bissue was initially cleared by the previous administration, the OSP reopened the case and has moved forward with criminal prosecutions.
The IMCIM, established in 2017 to combat illegal mining (galamsey), was dissolved in 2021 following corruption scandals, including Bissue’s alleged involvement in the misappropriation of excavators and gold nuggets.
In November 2024, the Human Rights Court dismissed the final in a series of suits filed by Charles Bissue aimed at preventing the OSP from arresting, investigating, or charging him.
Mr. Bissue had earlier secured a 10-day ex parte injunction restraining the OSP from arresting him, alleging that the warrant issued was unlawfully obtained and intended to harass him. He also sought a declaration that a notice designating him as “wanted” was invalid.
However, the court found Bissue’s claims entirely without merit, ruling that there was no evidence to support his allegations. The key issue was whether the Kaneshie District Court had issued a warrant for his arrest, as he claimed.
The judge concluded that no such warrant existed and dismissed Bissue’s claim as a figment of his imagination. The court awarded costs of GH₵10,000 against him.
This ruling cleared the way for the OSP to continue its investigations into Mr. Bissue’s activities during his time with the defunct IMCIM, as well as to pursue a separate set of corruption charges based on the Galamsey Fraud Part 1 documentary.
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