Former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has praised the move to freeze the financial accounts of business tycoon Richard Nii Armah Quaye.
Recently, Mr. Quaye celebrated his 40th birthday in style at the Black Star Square in Accra. Numerous prominent people from the entertainment and business sectors attended the star-studded event, which was branded #RNAQ40.
Responding to the events on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo program, Atik Mohammed expressed amazement that Mr. Richard Nii Armah Quaye has not taken any lessons from what happened to Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, the Ghanaian businessman known for the Menzgold scam.
His comment comes amid an ongoing income tax assessment by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure that Mr. Quaye is in compliance with his tax obligations.
Atik Mohammed backed the Financial Intelligence Centre’s (FIC) decision to target Richard Armah Quaye’s accounts, saying, “I’m not surprised FIC got interested in the case and has gone ahead to freeze his accounts because all the money in Richard Armah’s dealings was quoted in forex, and if you are paying people in forex, it means you are receiving forex to be able to do that.”
Atik Mohammed added that since there have been cases of banks misusing depositor funds, Mr. Richard Armah will take a long time to clear his name because the Bank of Ghana’s supervisory and inspectorate departments will carefully examine whether Mr. Quaye’s Bills Micro-Credit is legitimate.
Additionally, Atik said this issue will be of interest to investigative agencies, including the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
“I’m sure he will have a very long year because there will be a lot more other agencies like Bank of Ghana, EOCO, and OSP who will be coming his way because even people who are running savings and loans companies don’t own private jet, so why would someone operating a microfinance business?” he asked.
Using the platform, Atik Mohammed advised young Ghanaians to learn how to conduct business legitimately and to quit making “noise” when they unexpectedly become affluent.
