The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, says the government’s decision to settle with Dr Kwabena Duffuor and seven others formerly linked to Unibank Ghana Limited was based on a strategy to recover assets rather than prolong a criminal trial with no clear outcome.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday [July 28, 2025], Dr Ayine said the agreement, which has already seen the recovery of over GH¢835 million in cash and assets, offered the most practical way to secure value for the state following years of delays under the previous administration.

“Let me be clear: our priority is recovering what belongs to the Ghanaian people, not scoring points through convictions. As we speak, over GH¢835 million has been recovered, and we’re on track to reclaim the rest, GH¢430 million, through a structured plan,” Dr Ayine said.

He said that the state had filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the criminal case involving Dr Duffuor, Dr Johnson Asiamah, and six others who had been charged with 68 counts, including fraudulent breach of trust, money laundering, and dishonestly causing financial loss to the state in relation to the 2018 collapse of Unibank.

The settlement agreement, reached earlier this year, covers various recoveries, including commercial and residential properties, vehicles, and cash from third-party accounts.

Dr Ayine explained that the GH¢5.7 billion often quoted as the loss to the state was not solely the responsibility of the accused persons.

He said it reflected the total capital and liquidity shortfall identified by the Bank of Ghana after forensic audits, which pointed to irregular related-party transactions and insider lending.

He blamed the previous Attorney-General’s office for delays that undermined the case, saying no real progress was made between 2019 and 2021, a period during which some of the accused persons allegedly restructured or shifted assets.

“If you had taken this case seriously when you started, you would have made better progress. But to sit on it for four years and expect results now is unrealistic,” he said.

Dr Ayine insisted that the deal was not a “free pass” or political favour. He said it was a legally enforceable arrangement, approved by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ministry of Finance, and Cabinet.

He also addressed public interest in a long-awaited prosecution he previously referred to in Parliament as “Rumble in the Jungle”. He explained that the case had been temporarily held back to incorporate new findings from the Auditor-General.

“We haven’t abandoned it. In fact, it’s been fortified. What we don’t want is to enter the ring and get knocked out on technicalities,” he said.

“You can jail someone for 25 years and still recover nothing. But with this agreement, we’re getting more than 60 percent of the money back and we’re not done yet,” he said.

Unibank was among nine Ghanaian banks shut down during the 2017–2018 banking sector clean-up, which cost the state more than GH¢25 billion in bailouts and bond guarantees.