Moses Asaga Defends $133k Investment In Dubai After Corruption Exposé: “I worked with Ecobank”
- Moses Asaga has denied suggestions he owns illicitly acquired properties in Dubai’s real estate sector
- Asaga argued that his 30-year career in the private and public sector shows he could have accrued such wealth
- Three other Ghanaians were captured in the investigation, including former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Alfred Benin
Former Nabdam MP Moses Asaga has denied suggestions he owns illicitly acquired properties in Dubai following an investigation by E24 and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
The Nabdam MP described the report as a political intrigue when responding to the matter.
Source: Getty Images
Asaga argued to Citi News that his 30-year career, which saw him serve in the private and public sectors, justifies his investment of $133,000 in Dubai real estate. “Before politics, I worked with Ecobank,” he also noted.
He also noted that real estate in Ghana sells as high as $5 million.
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“So, they think for my 30-year working life I should not have an investment of that paltry amount,” the former MP questioned.
According to the investigation titled “How Dirty Money Finds a Home in Dubai Real Estate," Asaga, a former chief executive of the National Petroleum Authority, has an apartment in the Spirit Tower worth $133,000 in his name.
Three other Ghanaians were captured in the investigation: former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Alfred Benin, former Electoral Commission Official Joseph Kwaku Asamoah and Inusah Fuseini, a former Minister for Land and Natural Resources.
How did Asaga's name come out?
The Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a nonprofit research organisation on international crime and conflict, initially obtained leaked data from 2022 and 2020, which informed the report.
The data was shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24 and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which coordinated an investigative project with over 70 media outlets. The journalists confirmed the owners' identities using official records, among other things.
Due to the secrecy in Dubai’s real estate sector, its high-rises and villas are noted to serve as safe havens for some of the world’s most wanted criminals.
The city’s property records are difficult to obtain and cannot be easily searched.
Ghana is also noted to have a weak asset declaration regime, and concerns have been raised about unexplained wealth among politicians.
Ghana Integrity Initiative warns about pervasive corruption in Ghana
YEN.com.gh reported that the Executive Director of GII has bemoaned the pervasiveness of corruption in Ghana.
According to Mary Awelana Addah, corruption will remain in the country for the foreseeable future unless tough actions are taken immediately to stem the canker.
She noted that its pervasiveness in politics threatens the country's democracy.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
