Akufo-Addo Demands Apology and Retraction From Al Jazeera Over Gold Mafia Documentary

• Nana Akufo-Addo is demanding a retraction and apology from Al Jazeera over portions of the "Gold Mafia" documentary
• The president has said in a letter dated April 25, 2023, that the portion where one Alistiar Mathias, an alleged gold smuggler and money launderer made claims deemed defamatory and untrue should have been removed
• The letter from the Office of the President said Al Jazeera failed to do diligent and professional work

President Nana Akufo-Addo has written to global news network Al Jazeera, demanding a retraction and an apology for publishing aspects of "Gold Mafia", a documentary that detailed how huge amounts of money were laundered from Africa.

According to the president, parts of the documentary relating to his person were "inaccurate" and "unfair".

"The documentary in question made baseless claims that the President acted as a lawyer for one Mr. Alistair Mathias and implied that the President personally benefitted unlawfully from an alleged $100m state infrastructure contract purportedly awarded to Mr. Mathias," the letter from The Office of the President to Al Jazeera dated April 25, 2023, stated.

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"Gold Mafia" documentary makes wild allegations

The documentary, which was aired in four parts exposed a series of gold smuggling gangs in Southern Africa.

This gang helped suspected criminals launder hundreds of millions of dollars, getting rich themselves while plundering their nations.

The part of the documentary that concerns the president starts from 1hr:11min into the 4th episode of the documentary.

One Alistair Mathias, a gold trader said to be a designer of money laundering schemes for African leaders is introduced in the documentary.

“Ghana’s president is a good friend of mine. In fact, he was my lawyer. Cyril Ramaphosa here; I know him. I know his kids,” Mathias, a Canadian, told undercover reporters who had posed as Chinese investors.

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But when Aljazeera spoke to Alistair Mathias after the undercover investigation, he denied the claims he had made about knowing the president of Ghana.

Al Jazeera acknowledge this when it stated in the concluding part of the documentary as follows:

"Mr Mathias denied ever being awarded any tender by the Ghanaian government or entering into any government contracts in any African country."

Akufo-Addo demands retraction and apology from Al Jazeera

Among other reasons, president Nana Akufo-Addo explained that he is demanding the retraction and apology from Al Jazeera because the news network refused or failed to crosscheck the truth in Mathias' claim about having any links with the him.

"Accordingly, those parts of the documentary are malicious, defamatory, and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the President and Government of Ghana. It is therefore demanded that Al Jazeera withdraws the documentary immediately, retracts and apologises to the President and the Government of Ghana for airing such an unprofessional and defamatory documentary," letter demanded.

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Dr Manteaw worried Akufo-Addo becoming the worst president in Ghana's history

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that Dr Steve Manteaw, a renowned policy analyst, has said Nana Akufo-Addo could easily go down in history as the worst president of Ghana.

The Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative says the presidency's handling of the allegations contained in Prof Frimpong-Boateng's report on illegal mining is poor.

Dr Manteaw told Neat FM that the allegations contained in Prof Frimpong-Boateng's report are too serious for the presidency to downplay them.

Akufo-Addo appeals to traders to stop slapping huge margins on prices of goods

In a separate story, the president last year appealed to market women and other traders to relax the way they put huge margins on the prices of goods on the market.

Addressing the nation on measures his government is taking to tackle the "economic crisis" the president said it is important for the traders to be measured on their pricing decisions.

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He also praised suppliers and distributors of goods who have ensured that there are enough products on the market despite the uncertainties.

Source: YEN.com.gh