The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has been charged with three counts of conspiracy, intentionally causing financial loss to a public body, and money laundering. The charges were filed on October 3, 2026, by Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai. According to the prosecution, the charges relate to an alleged GH¢9.85 million loss involving state-owned SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited. Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, a lawyer and Senior Partner at Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners, has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
The prosecution alleges that Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, while serving as legal counsel for SIC Life, reached an arrangement with the company’s then Managing Director in 2024 to settle a judgment debt owed to the company for an amount substantially below the outstanding sum. This arrangement resulted in SIC Life losing GH¢9.85 million, according to the prosecution. The first count accuses the MP of conspiring to intentionally dissipate public funds, contrary to Section 1(1) of the Public Property Protection Decree, 1977 (SMCD 140), and Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah is also charged with intentionally causing financial loss to a public body under Section 179A(2) of the Criminal Offences Act. The third charge is money laundering, contrary to Section 1(2)(a)(ii) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044). The prosecution says SIC Life engaged Nana Baffour Awuah and his law firm in May 2020 to recover GH¢6.3 million owed to the company by Equity Savings and Loans Limited. Under the agreement, the law firm was entitled to professional fees equivalent to 15% of the principal amount claimed.
On July 18, 2022, the High Court’s Commercial Division in Accra entered summary judgment in favour of SIC Life and awarded the company GH¢10.86 million. In an effort to enforce the judgment, a 31.93-acre parcel of land belonging to Equity at Adamorobe was attached on December 20, 2023. The court later appointed an auctioneer to sell the property by public auction, setting a reserve price of GH¢25 million. By May 28, 2024, the judgment debt had risen to GH¢14,850,776.14, according to the prosecution.
The prosecution alleges that, despite the court attachment, Equity purportedly sold the property on March 14, 2024, to Eco Swiss Investment Limited for GH¢21.76 million. Investigators established that Eco Swiss had not been legally incorporated at the time of the transaction. Eco Swiss had paid Equity GH¢5 million by July 2024 before filing a notice of claim challenging the court attachment. Nana Baffour Awuah subsequently facilitated a settlement involving SIC Life, Equity, and Eco Swiss, which resulted in SIC Life accepting GH¢5 million as full settlement of its GH¢14.85 million judgment debt.
The prosecution alleges that the settlement was entered into by SIC Life’s then Managing Director in concert with Nana Baffour Awuah without prior approval from the company’s board, shareholders, or the Ministry of Finance. The Attorney-General further alleges that on November 11, 2024, Nana Baffour Awuah issued a cheque for GH¢1 million to SIC Life’s then Managing Director, representing nearly half of the GH¢2.2 million legal fee received under the settlement. The prosecution alleges that the payment was made to assist the recipient to evade the legal consequences of a crime.
Nana Baffour Awuah’s lawyers have rejected the prosecution’s characterisation of the transaction as the dissipation of public funds. The MP has been granted GH¢10 million bail with two sureties and is expected to reappear before the court on October 26 and November 2, 2026. The charges against him remain allegations and have not yet been tested or determined by the court. Nana Baffour Awuah's lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, told the High Court that the transaction arose from legal work undertaken by the MP’s former law firm to recover funds owed to SIC Life by Equity Savings and Loans.
Key points
- - The charges against Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah include conspiracy, intentionally causing financial loss to a public body, and money laundering. - The alleged loss to SIC Life is GH¢9.85 million. - Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been granted GH¢10 million bail.
