Capital Bank Case: Court again dismisses Ato Essien’s application for stay of proceedings

An Accra High Court has dismissed William Ato Essien, founder of the defunct Capital Bank’s application for stay of proceedings, pending the determination of an appeal against one of its rulings.

The Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, a Judge of the Court of Appeal, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, held that the grant of a stay was a discretional exercise and that the applicant had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstance.

Mr Essien, Rev. Fitsgerald Odonkor, the then Managing Director of the Bank and Tettey Nettey of MC Management Services, are standing trial in the GHS620million offered to Capital Bank as liquidity support by the Bank of Ghana.

He said examining the nature of the application, the deposition in support of the application and the attachment would leave any serious court with only one choice that the application was nothing but frivolous.

He said the exhibits admitted as evidence had nothing in it that breached the accused person’s rights and that the claim that the appeal raised a serious arguable point of law could not be correct. “l dismisses the application as it does not have merit,” he said.

Mr Baffuor Gyau Bonsu Ashia, Counsel for Mr Essien, moving the application, said the motion was filed on June 9, 2022, against the Court’s own ruling.

He said they had attached to the motion two exhibits, which was the ruling of the Court and attached as marked exhibit B, the notice of appeal.

The Counsel said the reading of the notice of appeal would show that they had raised serious legal issues to be determined by the Court of Appeal.

He said special circumstances being demonstrated was the admission of the pen drive, which contained the audio recordings of the confrontation between the special investigations team and the accused person.

Mr Ashia prayed the Court to grant them the stay of its own ruling.

Mrs Marina Appiah-Opare, Chief State Attorney, said they were opposed to the motion because they had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances that would warrant a stay.

Meanwhile, the cross-examination of Rev. Odonkor continues. The case was adjourned to June 23, 2022.