AG recommends stealing charge against NDC’s Ashie-Moore in case linked to US$800,000 ECG contract dispute

The Attorney-General’s Office has recommended that Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Emmanuel Nii Ashie-Moore, be charged with stealing over allegations that he removed a Singaporean businessman’s luggage and personal belongings while the businessman was in police custody.

According to a Joynews report citing some documents, the Attorney-General’s Office considers the evidence gathered sufficient to support a charge under Section 124 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

The document refers to an investigation docket containing witness statements, CCTV footage from Fiesta Residences and a cybercrime analysis report. It identifies Mr Ashie-Moore as the first suspect and alleges that he removed the complainant’s belongings from the hotel while the businessman was in police custody.

“Upon careful review of the entire docket, including the statements of the complainant, the 1st suspect, investigating officers, the CCTV footage from Fiesta Residences, and its accompanying cybercrime analysis report, it is my considered view that there is sufficient evidence to support a charge of stealing against the 1st suspect, Emmanuel Nii Ashie-Moore,” the document states.

According to the document, the CCTV footage corroborates the alleged removal of the luggage by Mr Ashie-Moore and other unidentified persons.

It also raises questions about how Mr Ashie-Moore came to possess the complainant’s medication and the circumstances under which the businessman’s passport was deposited at the High Court Registry.

The document suggests that these circumstances indicate that Mr Ashie-Moore exercised control over the complainant’s property and support an inference that the belongings were dishonestly appropriated without lawful justification.

Consequently, the Attorney-General’s Office has advised investigators to charge Mr Ashie-Moore with stealing, obtain a statement from him and forward it to the office for prosecution.

“Your Special Investigation Unit (SIU) duplicate case docket with R.O. No. 204/2025 is hereby retained for prosecution,” the document adds.

The recommendation does not amount to a criminal conviction, and Mr Ashie-Moore has not been found guilty of the alleged offence.

The case forms part of a wider legal dispute between Mr Ashie-Moore and Singaporean businessman Toh You Kang over an alleged US$800,000 payment linked to purported contracts with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for the supply of electric cables.

In a human rights action filed at the High Court in 2025, Mr Kang alleged that he paid the money after Mr Ashie-Moore represented that he could help secure contracts with ECG.

The businessman also accused the NDC regional chairman of violating his rights, including through his alleged detention and the seizure of his personal belongings.

Mr Ashie-Moore, through his lawyer, Gideon Tettey Tetteh, denied receiving the US$800,000 and rejected the allegations levelled against him.

His legal team, in turn, accused Mr Kang of defrauding Mr Ashie-Moore and his business partners.

The recommendation to charge Mr Ashie-Moore with stealing concerns the alleged removal of the businessman’s belongings. The separate allegations surrounding the US$800,000 ECG contract arrangement remain part of the wider legal dispute and must be distinguished from the proposed stealing charge.

The matter remains subject to the relevant legal processes.