Attempts to link President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the Canadian alleged gold smuggler Alistair Mathias were deflated yesterday as the president’s legal counsel moved to dispel any alleged links.
In the final episode of an Al Jazeera undercover investigation into Mathias’s gold smuggling and money-laundering activities across Africa, Mathias boastfully claimed to have relationships with various presidents on the continent.
He further described President Akufo-Addo as a good friend and went on to allege that the president was his lawyer.
Some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) latched on to the claims and made various accusations against the president.
However, the claims were denied by the legal counsel to the President, Kow Essuman who observed that President Akufo-Addo has not been in private practice as a lawyer since 2000 and insisted that his legal chambers have not in any way acted as lawyers to either Alistair Mathias or any of his associates.
In a tweet on Sunday 16 April 2023, Essuman wrote: “The president has not been in private practice since 2000, neither has the president nor his law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co, acted as a lawyer for this Alistair Mathias or Guldrest.
“The president does not know this Mathias or Guldrest. Ignore the spurious allegations,” Essuman added.
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 lawyer for this Alistair Mathias or Guldrest. The President does not know this Mathias or Guldrest. Ignore the spurious allegations.
— Kow Essuman (@kaessuman) April 16, 2023
Mathias is a gold trader with expertise in designing money laundering schemes, a skill that he claims has given him access to heads of states across the continent.
Posing as Chinese criminals seeking to launder money through Africa, Al Jazeera’s investigative team caught up with Mathias, who spilled the details of his modus operandi.
The so-called financial architect also boasted about his alleged relationships with presidents of some countries and the king of Swaziland.
“There’s no heads 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 mine. DRC, the president has invited me several times to come build a refinery,” Mathias claimed.
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