The Attorney‑General’s office today entered a nolle prosequi in the high-profile prosecution of former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and seven others, accused in connection with the collapse of uniBank.
Deputy Attorney‑General Dr. Justice Srem‑Sai, who signed the press release, stated the decision follows a “significant” recovery of public funds. The Office originally set a 60 percent recovery threshold after prolonged negotiations with Duffuor and his co‑accused. That benchmark has now been met, making further prosecution unnecessary.
“Following prolonged negotiations and engagements, the accused persons in The Republic v. Kwabena Duffuor & 7 Others case have met this recovery threshold,” the statement read.
“Accordingly, … continuing with the prosecution will not serve any additional public purpose.”
The charges, brought in February 2020 under the case CR/0248/2020, included fraud, theft, and money laundering. Duffuor—the founder of uniBank, Finance Minister (2009–13), and former Governor of the Bank of Ghana—was alleged to have received GHS 663.3 million (~US $122 million) “knowing it had been obtained by means of a criminal offense.”
uniBank was declared insolvent in August 2018 by the Bank of Ghana, which cited unauthorised related-party lending—estimated at GHS 5.3 billion—as having triggered the collapse. The prosecution team included Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
While a nolle prosequi is not an acquittal, the AG’s office clarified that the move “does not imply an absence of wrongdoing”, but serves the pragmatic goal of recovering state resources. The announcement reaffirmed the AG’s commitment to the rule of law, treasury protection, and national accountability.
This decision caps Ghana’s 2018–19 financial sector clean‑up, which saw multiple banks closed or merged and led to the formation of Consolidated Bank Ghana to absorb failing institutions. With billions of cedis at risk, the state continues to recover assets through negotiated settlements—even as public attention turns to whether further prosecutions will follow.
Read the statement below:
