Lawyer Martin Kpebu has stated that the former CEO of the now-defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, could have easily paid off the debt with the money earned from the sale of his $10 million Prampram house.
According to him, throwing the former CEO in jail won’t help the country get its hands on the money. His statement follows the sentencing of Ato Essien to a 15-year prison term for failing to comply with his promise to repay the bank GH¢90 million.
During his appearance on UTV, Martin Kpebu pointed out that Ato Essien had stated during the proceedings that he possessed a property in Prampram valued at approximately $10 million. Kpebu argued that selling this asset might be enough to settle the debt, thereby preventing the need for a prison sentence.
“He mentioned that he has a house worth about $10 million situated in Prampram, and if that house is sold, he could have gotten more than enough to pay the debt and keep the change. So, when I heard that, I thought there could be justice in the case. Because when Ato Essien goes to jail, it will not hurt me in any way, but we need the money. When we get the money, it will serve as a deterrent to others, not him being in prison.”
“Now that he is convicted, if he should be filing a form, he will be asked if he has been convicted before, and he will have to tick yes. So, he is definitely going to feel the effect. And also because the case involves stealing, if he is applying for a visa, he will not get it. He may not be able to get employment again, so he is going to feel it,” he said.
The lawyer also suggested that Ato Essien could try filing an appeal or negotiating a new settlement with the Attorney General.
“The main thing is that we have seen the building, and once we have that, we should at all costs get the money back. If he goes into prison, we cannot get the money back again. If the judge had included it in announcing his judgement, then we could get the money while he is in jail. Also, there is no evidence that he used the stolen money to put up that building,” he added.
The former CEO, Ato Essien, was found guilty on 23 counts of conspiracy for embezzling funds from the Capital Bank’s liquidity support, and as of December 1, 2022, he had paid about GH30 million of the total amount, GH90 million.
