Sedinam Tamakloe, former CEO of MASLOC, has been handed a 10-year prison sentence with hard labor, while Daniel Axim, former Chief Operating Officer, received a five-year sentence with hard labor.
This verdict comes after they were found guilty on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, money laundering, and breaching public procurement laws.
The trial, which commenced in 2019, saw the state presenting six witnesses. Tamakloe was tried in absentia after leaving the country for medical reasons with court permission, while Axim testified in person but did not call any witnesses.
The convictions stem from various instances of misappropriating funds allocated for MASLOC activities between 2013 and 2016. One notable incident involved withdrawing GHc 500,000 as a loan for Obaatampa Savings and Loans, demanding a refund when the institution declined a 24% interest rate.
Despite evidence of the refund, it was not reflected in MASLOC’s accounts. The duo also diverted over 1.7 million Ghana cedis intended for a sensitization campaign, dispersing only a fraction to beneficiaries and keeping the rest.
Similarly, funds meant for Kantamanso fire victims were misused, with only a portion disbursed to the victims. The case also highlighted irregularities in vehicle and Samsung phone purchases, where inflated prices were paid, exceeding prevailing market rates.
Source: Ghanaweb