According to him, Ato Essien was greedy and deserves to pay the price for his actions.
Essien, who was convicted in December 2022 for stealing over GH¢90 million belonging to Capital Bank, avoided a custodial sentence after the court accepted an agreement between him and the Attorney-General (A-G) for him (Essien) to pay the GH¢90 million as restitution to the state.
In a ruling this afternoon, the court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, held that Essien has failed to pay the restitution to the state per the agreed terms with the A-G.
Justice Baffour said "The convict demonstrated sheer greed in his desire to own another bank besides Capital Bank Ltd and left no stone unturned through subterfuge and deceit with pure criminal intent to set up Sovereign Bank Ltd.
"Being in a position of trust, he was expected to have demonstrated a sense of responsibility and true fidelity. He had no cause, whatsoever, to steal such gargantuan sums of money."
Ato Essien's legal troubles began when he was convicted in December 2022 after voluntarily entering a plea agreement with the state under section 35 of the Courts Act. This arrangement was designed to prevent a custodial sentence, but it was contingent on him meeting the GH¢90 million debt obligation imposed by the court.
According to the terms of the agreement, Essien was obligated to settle the GH¢90 million debt by the end of 2023. In December 2022, he made an initial payment of GH¢30 million and was expected to pay the remaining sum in three equal installments throughout 2023.
The first installment was due by the end of April 2023, and failure to meet this deadline risked triggering a custodial sentence. Unfortunately, when April concluded, Ato Essien had only paid GH¢6 million of the required GH¢20 million.
The state took action by petitioning the court to impose the custodial sentence, as stipulated in the agreement for a breach of the payment plan.
Further investigations revealed that Ato Essien had only managed to make an additional payment of GH¢2 million, bringing the total amount paid toward the first installment to GH¢8 million. A significant balance of GH¢12 million remained unpaid.
In the larger context, this means that out of the GH¢90 million debt, the convicted former CEO had paid just GH¢38 million, leaving a staggering GH¢52 million outstanding.
Consequently, the court rendered its verdict, sentencing Ato Essien to 15 years in prison with hard labor, underscoring the seriousness of the financial obligations imposed by the court.