The Accra High Court has granted an application to vary the bail terms of former Director General of the National Service Authority, Osei Assibey Antwi, reducing the amount from GH₵800 million to GH₵623 million.
Lawyers for the embattled former National Service Authority Director pleaded with the court to vary the bail terms, highlighting that the original amount was the highest in the history of bail conditions in the country.
Lead counsel for Assibey Antwi, Alex Osei Wusu, argued that the substantive intention of the bail—eliminating flight risk—had been met, as his client’s passports had been availed to the court and he had been placed on a no-flight list.
However, Osei Wusu noted that it was impossible to present properties valued at GH₵800 million.
“The present bail terms in terms of properties standing at GH₵800 million, if converted to $80 million at an exchange rate of one dollar to GH₵10, mean that even if the applicant is able to mobilize property at a cost of 1 million dollars—this being the average cost of a house in a Grade A area in Accra—it means the applicant must provide 80 of those houses. Then all those houses in East Legon will have to be provided,” Osei Wusu argued.
The prosecution, led by Principal State Attorney Dufie Prempeh, opposed the application for bail variation, arguing that the conditions were reasonable. She contended that the former National Service Authority Director could find men and women to stand as surety for him since he was a former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister.
After hearing arguments from counsel on both sides, the court granted the application to vary the bail terms and set the new amount at GH₵623 million with six sureties to be justified. All other original bail conditions remain the same.
Osei Assibey Antwi has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.
Discussion about this post