Former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe Attionu has been acquitted and discharged after the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned her conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
The three-member panel, made up of Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Justice Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, ruled on Thursday that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against her beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also criticised the trial court’s handling of the case, stressing that the constitutional presumption of innocence must remain central to every criminal trial.
According to the appellate court, the evidence presented by the prosecution fell short of the legal threshold required to sustain the convictions.
The court further raised concerns about aspects of the prosecution’s conduct during the trial.
Its detailed reasons are contained in a 94-page judgment, which the court said would be made available before the close of the day.
Tamakloe was convicted by the High Court in April 2024 after a trial that began in January 2019. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty on several charges linked to her tenure at MASLOC.
She faced 78 counts, including stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, unauthorised commitment and money laundering.
The prosecution, led by then Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, alleged that Tamakloe misappropriated public funds through a number of MASLOC initiatives.
Among the allegations was the diversion of GH¢500,000 that had been earmarked as a loan for Obaatanpa Microfinance. Prosecutors claimed the institution declined the facility because of the interest rate, after which the money was allegedly diverted.
She was also accused of misusing funds meant for MASLOC sensitisation programmes, diverting relief money intended for victims of the Kantamanto Market fire and inflating the cost of vehicles and mobile phones procured by the institution.
The prosecution called seven witnesses during the trial and relied heavily on a forensic audit report to establish its case.
However, the Court of Appeal has now set aside the convictions imposed by High Court Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe and ordered that Tamakloe be acquitted and discharged.
The ruling effectively overturns the 10-year sentence and clears the former MASLOC CEO of the charges for which she was convicted by the High Court.
