Paul Adutwum’s Family petitions Akufo-Addo over $40m Investment from Guinea

The family of the late Paul Adutwum has petitioned president, Nana Akufo-Addo to intervene and help retrieve the USD 40 million cash belonging to the Ghanaian business man which has been seized by the government of Guinea.

The government of Guinea has delayed in releasing the money to the family of the Ghanaian businessman after his death despite a ruling by unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Guinea ordering the government to return the money to the Adutwum Family.

Paul Adutwum died in Guinea in 2017 after almost 30 years of fighting successive heads of states for the release of his hard earned money amounting to 40 million dollars.

After several years of battling the Guinean heads of states at the various stages of the Guinean courts, the supreme court of Guinea finally ruled in his favour, declaring that Paul Adutwum deserved to have access to his hard earned money at the Bank of Guinea and ordered the government, the bank of Guinea and all the security services to ensure that the money is paid to him.

The government initially refused but later decided to pay the money through one Ernest Cosmos Abem, , a staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consular with the Ghana Embassy in Guinea who was authorized by the Late Paul Adutwum to receive the money on his behalf before his death . Interestingly, Ernest could not be located and the family is in a dilemma as to his whereabouts’. Family members are wondering if he received the money and bolted with it or has been kidnapped somewhere by some unscrupulous people.

The late Paul Adutwum was born in Ghana where he grew and worked and later fled to the United States of America during the AFRC and PNDC uprising in 1979 and 1981 where attempts were made to end his life. After several years in exile in the US, he became a US citizen by naturalization and later moved to Guinea where he established and operated a business called Citizen Investment Company which worked to find investor partners around the world for African countries.

In October 1986, when the Guinean Army came to power, Paul Adutwum won a contract from the Technick Group cooperation to renovate the Almony Samory Toure Military Camp in Guinea. During the renovation as agreed between Paul Adutwum’s Citizen Investment Company and the Technick group, the Technick group paid an amount of one million six hundred and twenty three dollars US$ 1602,623 in the account number 35805266 belonging to Paul B.Y. Adutwum, Managing Director of the Citizen Investment company at the BIAD S.A Bank . The state of Guinea was also paid its share of the transaction, documents available indicate.

Not long after the deposit was made, BAID S A fell into bankruptcy and all the money contained in the bank including that of Paul Adutwum amounting to US$1,602,623 in account number 35805266 were transferred to the central bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG).

An official appointed by Paul Adutwum to manage the account, Mamadou Sangare took advantage of the absence and with the complicity of some officials from the Guinea central bank withdrew a sum of US$267,103 (Two hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand one Hundred and three dollars to buy a house for himself in a Conakry suburb called Matoto and shared the rest of the money with his accomplices without the knowledge of Paul Adutwum.

Mr Adutwum subsequently got hint of the illicit act and immediately revoked the mandate of Mamadou Sangare. Sangare was subsequently arrested, prosecuted and jailed. He fell sick and later died in prison.

Strangely, the military junta also seized the remaining amount in the account. From trial to trial, Paul Adutwum was taken to all types of courts in Conakry Guinea. After many years of battling it out with the government of Guinea, the supreme court of Guinea through Judgment number 19 of December 2013, with all the chamber members in attendance together decided to definitely settle the case in favour of Mr Paul BY Adutwum after 22 years of judiciary proceedings.

Being Confident by the ruling of the supreme court of Guinea , Mr Adutwum who was then based in the US returned to Guinea to receive his money .

On 24th February 2014, when he made attempts to go for his money, he was informed that the president and acting president of Guinea Dadis Camera and Sekouba Konate had emptied the account. They had withdrawn all the money in his account during the transition period.

However the central bank could not provide any evidence to that effect.

On receiving the information Paul Adutwum became shocked but tried to meet the president of Guinea to discuss the issue. He therefore wrote several letters and petitions to the Guinean president in order to release the money for him. At the time the interest on the money US$1,335,520 had jumped to US$40 million. With much pressure, attempt was made by the Guinean government to release the money but in the process, Mr Adutwum fell ill and died in Guinea in 2017 at the age of 75and was buried in Guinea. The family could not transport his body to Ghana because he spent his fortune on the case and there was no money to convey his body to Ghana.

Prior to his death, Mr Paul Adutwum authorized one Ernest Cosmos Abem, a consular at the Ghana Embassy in Guinea to be in charge and ensure that he received the money on his behalf for the family He also authorized the family to use some of the money to pay his debts in Guinea and the huge hotel bills. After his death the family had information that the money was going to be paid to Ernest Cosmos Abem.

Subsequently, nothing was heard from him again When the family contacted him he said he had encounted a problem but Ernest Cosmos Abem could not tell what the problem was and that was all. He could not be traced. The family suspect he might have received the money and bolted with it or something has happened to him.

Information indicates that after his death some officials in Ghana’s diplomatic circles, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The New Patriotic party, names withheld are conniving and negotiating with the officials in the Guinean government for the release of the money so they could share. Information indicates that this is being done without the knowledge of Mr Adutwum children or any of his family members.

Whiles alive, the family said Paul Adutwum wrote several letters to President Akufo Addo to intervene in his case and discuss the matter with his colleague Guinean president in order to facilitate the release of the money to him but this did not materialized.

It will be recalled that Mr Adutwum even sought the assistant of Nana Obiri Boahen, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party to help meet president Akufo Addo to discuss the issue to which a letter was written and signed by Obiri Boahen and dispatched to the presidency, but that did not also work since there was no response.

Besides that he personally wrote several petitions to the Jubilee House and subsequently sought the assistance of lawyer Adawuga and that did not also work.