Martin Eson-Benjamin is CEO at Millennium Development Authority. An independent forensic probe into allegations fraud following the takeover of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) by Power Distribution Service (PDS) has revealed, there is no evidence to suggest any of the entities involved in the deal conspired to defraud the state.
Documents available to JoyNews indicate, the private auditor hired by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), did not find any information to suggest that either PDS, Cal Bank, Donewell and or personnel from MiDA committed or conspired to commit fraud or other malfeasance, in relation to the demand guarantees.
The government on July 30 announced the suspension of the contract with PDS , barely six months after the company took over from ECG. The decision, according to Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, “…follows the detection of fundamental and material breaches of PDS obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction which have been discovered upon further diligence. The Demand Guarantees were key prerequisites for the lease of assets on 1st March 2019 to secure the assets that were transferred to the concessionaire.”
Subsequently, MiDA hired the services of an independent investigator, FIT Consulting , on August 16, to conduct forensic audit over the alleged fraudulent guarantee documents submitted.
FIT on Tuesday, September 3, submitted the report on its findings to MiDA.
The findings are captured in an 11-point document summerising the works of the independent auditor which was submitted to the special ad hoc committee set up by MiDA to look into the issue.
Find the conclusion of the independent auditor below:
