President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo answered to Al Jazeera’s request for information regarding an accusation levelled against him by a known gold smuggler, the Doha-based international news outlet has discovered.
In a four-part documentary on Zimbabwe titled “Gold Mafia,” the self-described smuggler Canadian Alistair Mathias stated that Akufo-Addo was his friend and attorney.
Have the King With You, the fourth episode of Gold Mafia, ended with some of the accused, including Alistair, denying everything they had allegedly said on video and that undercover agents had captured.
“Mr Mathias denied ever being awarded any tender by the Ghanaian government or entering any government contracts in any African country,” the part that was particular to Ghana said.
“President Akufo-Addo of Ghana told us that he had no recollection of acting as a lawyer for Alistair Mathias or his company,” said text from Al Jazeera on the screen.
The president hasn’t been in private practise for the past 23 years, according to Kow Essuman, the president’s attorney.
Essuman was replying to claims made by Canadian gold smuggler Alistair Mathias that the president is his friend and attorney.
Kow Essuman confirmed in a tweet on April 16, 2023, that Alistair Mathias was not, as the president claimed in the Al Jazeera investigative film, in any way represented by the president’s legal team.
“The President has not been in private practice since 2000, neither has the President nor his law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co, acted as a lawyer for this Alistair Mathias or Guldrest.
“The President does not know this Mathias or Guldrest. Ignore the spurious allegations,” the tweet he shared read.
Alistair Mathias’ comments regarding Akufo-Addo:
The $40 million worth of gold that is illegally removed from Ghana each month by Alistair Mathias was revealed to be in intimate contact with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Gold trader Alistair Mathias, who specialises in creating money laundering plans for Africans, claimed that because of his profession, he had access to every president and head of state on the continent.
One of the primary players in the film, Alistair Mathis, boasted about his connections to the Ghanaian president in the final episode of the Investigative Unit of Al Jazeera’s undercover investigations into gold smuggling in Africa.
He said that his link with Akufo-Addo is close to the undercover reporters who had been posing as Chinese criminals looking to launder illicit funds from Africa. He was described as a financial architect.
He also says that the president of Ghana is his attorney.
“There’s no head of state or president that either of us can’t get to on this continent. Next door in Swaziland, the king is a close friend of mine. Zambia’s president is a close friend of my friend. DRC Congo, the president has invited me several times to come and build a refinery.
“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,” he bragged.
Source: AL JAZEERA
