Host of Happy FM’s current affairs show called ‘Epa Hoa, Da Ben?’, Kwame Afrifa-Mensah has opined that Ghanaians should not allow the western world disgrace our leaders as he believes that is what they are trying to do to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Speaking against the alleged money laundering saga levelled against the Asante monarch, as reported by the UK press (Daily Telegraph), he said £350,000 is no money to the rich Asante kingdom and as such Otumfuo has done nothing wrong taking such an amount to be deposited at the Ghana International Bank in the UK.
Mark Arthur, a British-Ghanaian who lost his job as result of the money laundering case, claimed that the Otumfuo invited him to his multimillion-pound sterling residence in Henley-on-Thames and handed him a bag containing almost £200,000 as well as $200,000 with consecutive serial numbers.
He explained that Otumfuo Osei Tutu II told him the cash had been withdrawn from banks in Ghana and brought to the UK and instructed him to move $200,000 to an account at Standard bank in Jersey.
However, after the deposit of £350,000 at the Ghana International Bank, a money laundering alert was triggered, leading to Mr Arthur’s suspension and subsequent dismissal as executive director of the bank following an investigation by the audit firm, Grant Thornton.
Kwame Afrifa-Mensah says there is no proof that the money was taking from Ghana.
“It is just a Whiteman claiming that Otumfuo gave him £350,000 but as it is now it hasn’t been proven that Otumfuo took the money from someone’s coffers in Ghana and no one has reported of his money going missing in the country”.
He added that Otumfuo might have taken the money from his businesses in the UK.
He said Otumfuo Osei Tutu was playing his part in the national development and has no reason to get involved in money laundering.
He said other leaders such as Queen Elizabeth use money from their countries to do business in other countries so he doesn’t see why Otumfuo can’t do same.
An angry Kwame Afrifa-Mensah told haters of Otumfuo to stop hating because he doesn’t represent only the Asante Kingdom when he travels but the entire nation.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com