The Accra High Court has sentenced the Founder of the defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, to a 15-year jail term for stealing over GHC90 million belonging to the bank.
Ato Essien had been convicted in December the previous year for embezzling the said amount from Capital Bank.
However, he had the opportunity to avoid a custodial sentence by reaching an agreement with the Attorney-General (A-G) to pay the GH¢90 million as restitution to the state.
In today’s ruling, the court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, stated that Essien had failed to fulfill the agreed terms with the A-G regarding the payment of restitution to the state.
This agreement was made in accordance with Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), allowing accused persons facing trial for causing financial loss to the state to pay the money and potentially avoid a custodial sentence.
Essien had initially paid GH¢30 million of the amount on December 1, 2022. As per the agreement, he was supposed to pay the remaining GH¢60 million in three instalments: the first on or before April 28, 2023, the second on or before August 31, 2023, and the last on or before December 15, 2023.
However, Justice Kyei Baffour noted that, to date, Essien had only paid Ghc7 million out of a possible Ghc40 million, missing the deadlines for both April 28 and August 31 this year, bringing the total paid to Ghc37 million out of the total GHC90 million.