Atto Essien escapes jail again; given deadline to pay back stolen cash

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the defunct Capital Bank Atto Essien has today[ 17th May 2023] been saved from going to jail by the Accra High Court even though he failed to meet a deadline to pay back some GHC 55 million back to the state by today.

The judge, Eric Kyei Baffuor, gave him up to 5th July 2023 to refund the GH¢55million restitution to the state, stating that Mr Essien had promised, in his affidavit, that he would have the cash to pay by the end of June 2023 and he thought it fair to give him ample time to refund the money to the state.

The judge was able to give Mr Essien extra time by adjourning the hearing of an application by the Attorney-General (A-G) which sought to have Mr Essien imprisoned over his inability to meet the deadline of paying the first tranche of a GH¢60million restitution to the state.

Mr Essien had successfully negotiated under Section 35 of the Court Act (Act 459, 1993) which allows an accused person who “admits the offence and is willing to offer compensation or make restitution and reparation for the loss, harm or damage caused” and therefore paid back GHC 35 million out of the GHC 90 million he had agreed to pay back to the state before today.

He had essentially agreed to stealing depositors’ funds which led to the eventual collapse of his bank, Capital Bank, in 2017.