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#PanamaPapers: Police raid Mossack Fonseca firm

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The raid was carried out by police and officials from Panama's organised crime unitPolice in Panama have raided the headquarters of the law firm at the centre of a massive data leak. Prosecutors said the operation had been carried out at the offices of Mossack Fonseca in Panama City “without incident or interference”.

The leaked “Panama Papers” have shown how some wealthy people use offshore firms to evade tax and avoid sanctions.

The firm has denied wrongdoing. It says it is the victim of a hack and that the information is being misrepresented.

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela has promised to work with other countries to improve transparency in its offshore financial industry.

Police carried out Tuesday’s raid along with officials from an organised crime unit. Officers set up a perimeter around the headquarters while prosecutors entered the offices to search for documents.

Afterwards, the attorney general’s office said the aim had been “to obtain documentation linked to the information published in news articles that establish the use of the firm in illicit activities”.

The statement added that searches would also take place at subsidiaries of the firm.

Panama’s government promised an investigation soon after news reports emerged more than a week ago based on more than 11 million documents from the firm.

The firm tweeted [in Spanish] that it “continues to co-operate with authorities in investigations made at our headquarters”.

Many other countries are probing possible financial crimes by the rich and powerful in the aftermath of the leak.

Mossack Fonseca partner Ramon Fonseca says the company had been hacked by servers based abroad and has filed a complaint with the Panamanian attorney general’s office.

Mr Fonseca served as a minister in Mr Valera’s government but stepped aside earlier this year after separate allegations linked the firm to the corruption scandal engulfing the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.


Panama Papers – tax havens of the rich and powerful exposed

  • Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca have been passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. BBC Panorama and UK newspaper The Guardian are among 107 media organisations in 76 countries which have been analysing the documents. The BBC does not know the identity of the source

 

  • They show how the company has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax

 

  • Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrongdoing

 

  • Tricks of the trade: How assets are hidden and taxes evaded

 

  • Panama Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #PanamaPapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag “Panama Papers”

 

Source BBC

Two suspected thieves found dead at Nungua

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The bodies of the two who are believed to be thievesTwo persons suspected to be thieves, were Monday found dead around a local eatery joint, Grace Cho Bar at Nungua, a suburb of Accra. It is unclear what caused their death.

Residents told TV3 they woke up to find the two males who they suspected to be thieves, lynched by some unknown assailants. The residents say they heard shouts of thieves at dawn in the neighbourhood but feared to come out at the time.

The two, believed to be in their late thirties, had visible marks of assault on their bodies and what appeared to be cutlass wounds in their faces. Their dresses were torn; rendering them naked. They were also smeared with mud, TV3’s Patrick Alabi reports.

One of them was identified by residents as Bortei, a native of Nungua. Also, one of them appeared to have had his leg broken at the knee area.

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Meanwhile, the Police at Nungua have since retrieved the body from the site where large crowd gathered to catch a glimpse. Investigation into the case has started by the Police

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Public Relations officer of the Accra Regional Police, ASP Afia Tengey, confirmed the incident to TV3 and said she was yet to receive full briefing from the Commander at the Nungua Police Station.

By Stephen Kwabena Effah|tv3network.com|Ghana
Twitter @steviekgh

Ghana’s EC unveils new logo ahead of Nov. polls

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file photoThe Electoral Commission (EC) has unveiled a new logo as part of a re-branding campaign. The new logo is expected to launched soon ahead of general elections in November.

 

The new logo has a dark-blue circle as background with rounded green, yellow, white and red coloured spots placed tactfully around the edge of the background. These four spots form a symmetry with four other similar spots on the background.

These four coloured spots – along with their four symmetrical spots – combine with eight white V-shaped outlines within the dark-blue background to create an abstract image of eight people in a circle with lifted hands.

The current EC logo has a black star in between two eagles at both sides of a shield with a hand in the middle casting a ballot. It also has the inscription ‘Transparency, Fairness, Integrity.

Reports indicate the decision by the public elections coordinator to change its logo has been met with disapproval from some media practitioners.

The reports suggest when the new logo was unveiled to the media practitioners at a capacity workshop organized by the EC on the November polls, they advised that the commission reverts to the old logo.

Source: GNA

Court orders extradition of British drug suspect, McDermott

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file photoAn Accra High Court has ordered the extradition of suspected British drug Lord, David McDermott who is wanted in the United Kingdom for trial over drug related offences.

Lawyer for the suspect, Victor Kodjoga Adawudu prayed the Ghanaian court to keep Mr. McDermott here in Ghana although British authorities wanted him extradited.

But the court on Tuesday, indicated that there are sufficient grounds for the suspect to be extradited, dismissing the case of his lawyers. David McDermott was arrested in Ghana for attempting to smuggle about £71 millions worth of cocaine into the UK.

He was arrested with the assistance of the Ghanaian authorities where he had been hiding for years. He is married to the step-daughter of the immediate past Governor of Ghana’s Central Bank, Dr. Kofi Wampah.

The 42 year old is the second British national to be arrested in Ghana after Arthur Simpson Kent.

By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|tv3network.com|Ghana
Twitter: NewsyMartin

Ghanaians now loyal to their political parties than country – CPP Exec

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file photoAn executive of the Convention People’s Party, Susan Adu-Amankwah, has condemned the rate at which Ghanaians’ loyalty to their country is being destroyed by politics.

She said people now find pleasure in identifying themselves by either their political party or ethnic groupings as against their Ghanaian nationality because they have lost country has lost its self-esteem.

“Most people now identify themselves by their political party, by their ethnic groups than saying that they are Ghanaians. And that is not good for us! We ought to stop and say no, this nation belongs to all of us,” she said during the newspaper review segment of TV3’s New Day  magazine show.

Mrs Adu-Amankwah observed the pride of people boasting of  their Ghanaian nationality during the Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has now faded, primarily due to what she described as the “erosion of our self-esteem” in Ghana.

“If [Dr Kwame] Nkrumah gave us nothing at all, he gave us certain audaciousness to believe in our own African personality that we could walk around and be proud to be African and Ghanaian,” she said

Mrs Adu-Amankwah who is the who is the second Vice Chairperson of the CPP said everybody wanted to be a Ghanaian during the Dr Nkrumah’s era, saying“people wanted to be Ghanaian; all Africans wanted to be Ghanaians”

However, she said it was regrettable that over the years, Ghanaians have had their self-esteem eroded; something she largely blamed on politics and some decisions and actions of some of the country’s leaders.

“We think that other people [foreigners] should come and help us build our nation. We think that we can go cup in hand; that kind of beggar mentality has also created some poverty of the mind and because of that we clutch on to things that are ephemeral and not the value of nationhood of being Ghanaian” she argued.

Member of Parliament for Damango, Mutawakilu Adam, who was also not happy with the development, said an aspect of the country’s Constitution is to be blamed in a way.

He argued the ‘winner-takes-all’ element of our politics has created that perception, noting “once this political party comes to power, it is its people that will be appointed and has also created the impression that when the president appoint somebody from another political party, that opposition party see that person to be a mole, a traitor, and it has gone deep into our political system,”

He said people nowadays done consider the national interest but rather that of their political parties but said that has come about as a result of the political system we have adopted in the country.
“The person doesn’t put the country first, they see the political party…and then we have managed to put it in the mind of our supporters that until your political party comes to power, you will not enjoy it,” he noted.

He added: “Even if you are enjoying, mentally, you seem not to be enjoying until your government comes, and if the government is doing anything, your motive is to sabotage it, make sure that you bring it down.”

He thus called for a paradigm shift from that mentality else the country will not move forward

By Stephen Kwabena Effah|tv3network.com|Ghana
Twitter @steviekgh

Kotoko have NOT reinstated Duncan as coach

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file photoKumasi Asante Kotoko HAVE NOT reinstated David Duncan as coach despite widespread reports claiming they have.

Checks by 3FM 92.7 from sources inside Manhyia have described the claims as LUDICROUS and insisted it would be unusual for Otumfour to take any such decision.

The Asantehene and owner of the club met the board, management and Duncan on Monday to hear the various sides of the story and find a solution to the crisis that shamed Kotoko so badly last week.

The Porcupine Warriors asked Duncan to step aside for five games but he responded by showing up at the club’s training grounds alone for work because he claims there is no provision such as step aside in his contract.

Duncan laid bare his grievances to the club at their meeting Monday including;

  1. His suspicion that his assistant Michael Osei may be undermining him in tanderm with management
  2. How he has been sidelined in the distribution of air time from their sponsors and
  3. His insistence that he is the right man to lead them going forward.

The players of the side are due to meet Otumfour today to state their side of the issue but it is highly unlikely many of them will be speaking in his favour amid accusations that he has supervised a divide and rule system in the club.

Insiders at Manhyia say given Opoku Nti’s level stronghold on the club and the influence he wields in Manhyia on football matters, it will be a major shock if Duncan is brought back against his will.

The Kotoko legend survived an attempt to remove him as chief executive of the club before the start of the season and looks set to ride out this one too.

By TV3 Sports|Ghana

Palm oil export plunges; prices nosedive locally

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file photoDemand for locally produced palm oil on the international market is falling months after the local palm oil industry came under severe scrutiny for its quality processes.

Some exporters of the produce have complained international consumers are shying away from made in Ghana palm oil mainly because of a series of negative reportage that affected the industry in the later parts of 2015.

The Food and Drugs Authority in October last year raised red alert on palm oil being sold on the local markets in parts of the country following a discovery that it has been adulterated with Sudan IV dye; a cancer-causing agent.

In early February it emerged that some palm oil traders in the country soak millipedes in the oil to enhance its reddish colour and change the taste, a survey by some postgraduate students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

These issues, according to the producers of the oil, have greatly affected their market, particularly on the international market, noting their products now go through more rigorous testing in Europe than those from other countries.

“The palm oil industry is really suffering this year, output has reduced and artisan millers who prepare small scale oil are currently closing down their operations,” National Organizer of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana, Maxwell Commey told Onua FM’s Abena Nyamekye.

He noted the reportage on the issues affected their exports which he said has reduced because of suspicions by the European Union.

“I personally exported containers of oil to Italy early this year, but it took two months of testing by European officials before it was released to my foreign client,” he continued.

While exports continue to suffer, prices of palm oil continue to fall on the local market. A gallon of palm oil which used to sell for GHC80 as at Novembers last year, now sells between GHC60 and GHC65.

“This has led to producers experiencing severe economic hardships and employees are being laid off,” Mr Commey said, adding “all of us have a role to play in ensuring that the palm oil industry does not collapse as it has the potential of creating job for people from all walks of life and different educational backgrounds”.

Nii Okai Tetteh|Onua 95.1FM|tv3network.com

GH¢5,000 meant the whole world to me – Veteran actor William Addo

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file photoVeteran Ghanaian actor William Addo says he is not the least abashed by the public appeal he made over his deteriorating eye condition.

“It’s better for me to try that to get the response I am getting now rather than you people telling me that you could have said your case and we could all have supported you.”

In an exclusive interview with TV3’s Owusu Worae, William Addo – popularly known in his halcyon days as Akpatse – said though the amount for his eye surgery seemed little to many, it meant the whole world to him, especially given the fact that he had not been in active profession for the past half a dozen years.

“For you it’s nothing [but] for me it is the whole world,” he opened up to our reporter.

William Addo successfully underwent surgery to his left eye as part of the first phase of correcting a cataract on his pupil. This followed a public appeal he made for help.

“When I close the right eye, it’s still very blur for me,” he said. “But that’s because I haven’t finished with the medication and therefore the healing process has not started.”

Surgery on the right eye is expected to be conducted soon.

“When I was told that if I don’t get that ¢50 million as soon as possible, there will be rapture to my sight, I panicked. William Addo where am I getting ¢50 million immediately?” he narrated how he reacted to the diagnosis of his ailment.

Many individuals and companies doled out monies for William Addo’s surgery.

He expressed regrets how he and his contemporaries neglected the business aspect of their art, explaining that showbiz is about ‘show’ and ‘business’.

William Addo, 66, says he will not turn down any offer of a role in any movie.

Source: tv3network.com|Ghana

President Mahama in E/R for ‘Accounting to the People’ tour

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file photoPresident John Dramani Mahama is expected to be in the Eastern Region on Tuesday, April 12 as part of the second leg of his tour of the country.

Dubbed ‘Accounting to the People’, the tour which began in the Western Region last week will take the president across all the ten regions of the country.

It is meant to afford the president an opportunity to reconnect with Ghanaians, a statement issued ahead of the start of the tour last week explained.

The president will be in the Eastern Region for three days.

His first port of call will be at Odumase Krobo, where he is expected to interact with the people and chiefs.

Source: tv3network.com|Ghana

STL does not transmit election results – EC insists

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file photoThe Electoral Commission of Ghana has insisted that Israeli firm Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) has never transmitted results of elections in Ghana contrary to suspicions that they do so.

The suspicions – mostly within opposition political parties – were fuelled by a recent statement issued by the Ministry of Interior that STL has been contracted by the EC to transmit election results.

On the sidelines of a workshop for journalists on Tuesday, April 12, a Deputy Commissioner at the EC, Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, said: “Transmission of result was never the work of STL and Dr Afari Gyan, the former Chairman of the Commission, had always been emphatic on this fact.”

She pointed out that the Commission has neither come out to dismiss what Dr Gyan said in 2012 about the fact that the Commission is not even conducting electronic transmission of results.

“So whatever is coming out,” Mrs Opoku Amankwaa further noted, “that is why the Commission has not spoken because we have given our position and it has been made clear.”

She said the ICT-firm only helped the EC secure the biometric verification machines.

“So as I speak, they are the people who are working on these things…it is they who service it and it is they who programme it.”

Source: tv3network.com|Ghana