The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has filed 15 criminal charges against Charles Bissue, former Secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), and Andy Thomas Owusu, his alleged accomplice, over corruption and abuse of public office in a mining license scandal involving GHC35,000.
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 IMCIM Secretary, corruptly accepted bribes totaling GHC35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong, directly and through Owusu, to fast-track the renewal of an expired mining license for ORR Resources Enterprise without proper documentation.
Mr. Bissue faces nine counts, including:
- Using Public Office for Profit under Section 179C(a) of the Criminal Offences Act (Act 29) for receiving GHC15,000 on January 22, GHC10,000 on January 30, and another GHC10,000 on February 8, 2019.
- Corruption by a Public Officer under Sections 239(1) and (3) of Act 29 (as amended by Act 1034), for accepting bribes to influence his official functions.
Mr. Owusu faces six counts, including:
- Aiding Corruption under Section 179C(b), for acting as a middleman in facilitating the illicit payments.
- Corruption of a Public Officer and Accepting Bribes to Influence under Sections 239(2) and 252(1) of Act 29.
The prosecution said Mr. Owusu received GHC5,000 for falsely claiming he could secure favors from Bissue and played a key role in negotiations with Adjapong during a sting operation conducted by investigative group Tiger Eye P.I.
The original bribe offer of GHC100,000 was later negotiated down to GHC40,000 each. Ultimately, Bissue allegedly received GHC35,000 while Owusu pocketed GHC15,000.
The Special Prosecutor’s office maintains that both individuals exploited their positions for personal gain at the expense of public trust, and the case is expected to proceed to trial in the coming weeks.
