*SFO DESCENDS ON *

*GHANAIAN TIMES MD *

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started probing reports of financial improprieties at the state-owned Ghanaian Times Corporation and has consequently ordered the Managing Director (MD) to submit some documents to its outfit to facilitate the investigations.

Mr. Kofi Assuman, has specifically been asked by the SFO to hand over details of the fuel acquisition process of the Corporation from January 2008 to March 2009, the total monthly amount of fuel received during the period as well as the list of beneficiaries with respective quantities allocated to them.

Other documents that the SFO would want to have access to for the probe are those covering the renovation of the staff estate apartments at the Tamale Office especially the tender and evaluation documents in addition to minutes of the board meeting for the period 2009 till date.

The documents, according to a letter dated May 27, 2010, and signed by Acting Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Justice A. Y. Tsar, and intercepted by The Herald, were to be handed over to the SFO by the Times MD latest by June 11, this year.

The deputy SFO boss noted in his letter that the probe was in pursuance of S13 of Act 466 of 1993.

The investigations follow this paper’s report of a petition submitted to the SFO against the MD some weeks ago by an anonymous staff, who the MD claims to be Mr. Emmanuel Kwandoh.

Mr. Assuman, therefore, publicly subjected Mr. Kwandoh, a physically challenged person, to hefty hooks and jabs on his body in a non-title bout, turning the precincts of the company which publishes the Ghanaian Times Newspaper, into a boxing arena.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Iddrisu Abu Yakubu, the Commander of Kaneshie District Police, when contacted told The Herald the usual Police phrase; “Investigations are still on-going’’.

This was after a visit to the station to find out what happened to the case since May, this year when an assault complaint was lodged against the Times MD. But sounding rather snobbish, Superintendent Iddrisu Abu Yakubu, angrily retorted, ‘‘why can’t you find out from the complainant or the MD, rather than coming to my office?”

The letter against the MD was sent to the Office of the President and copied to some state institutions including the National Media Commission (NMC), Ministry of Information, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the Office of the Chief of Staff at the Castle among others.

According to an eyewitness, the New Times Corporation MD, apart from the physical attack also verbally abused his accuser, and frantic efforts made by other members of staff to restrain him from further assaulting Mr. Kwandoh, proved futile.

When he was eventually restrained, the MD who was not satisfied with his initial performance in the bout later laid ambush at the corporation’s security checkpoint to engage Mr. Kwandoh in a rematch.

The Herald is informed that Mr. Kofi Assuman, the MD, had set up a committee of enquiry to investigate Mr. Kwandoh for persuading the driver of one of the corporation’s newly acquired vehicles to teach him how to drive.

The source said in the process of the driving lessons, Mr. Kwandoh lost control of the steering wheel and run into a VRA high tension and damaged the car beyond repairs.

The drama unfolded when the MD in anger rushed into the meeting of the committee he had set up to probe Mr. Kwandoh’s conduct, and accused him of being the brain behind a petition sent to the Office of the President about his alleged mismanagement and corrupt practices since assuming office as MD.

A case of assault has since being lodged with the Kaneshie Police against Mr. Kofi Assuman.

A copy of the petition sent to the SFO in the custody of The Herald alleges that the MD is engaged in fuel deals and within a year and half of running the company almost completed a mighty mansion with proceeds from the fraudulent act. He is said to be engaged in the act with Messrs Alhassan, and Naah. Mr. Alhassan has however denied involvement in any act of that nature in an interview with The Herald.

It said the MD has awarded a contract to a friend of his in Tamale in the Northern Region to renovate staff estate apartment without going through tender and the cost of the project is only known to him and the acting accountant of the corporation, the three page petition said.

The petition, signed by a concerned senior staff, said Mr. Assuman, since assuming office has bought himself two cars and that he destroyed the first one, Tata Safari and got a Ford Saloon car as a replacement from the board, chaired by Mr. David Newton, who also doubles as the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

Among other things, the petitioner accused the MD of collecting monies he is not entitled to, holding a doubtful educational certificate, cutting down his age to gain employment and receiving 10 per cent kickbacks from suppliers of the company.