The Africa Center for Integrity and Development (ACiD Africa) has lauded the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) for what it describes as professionalism and diligence in its recent investigations into the finances of Ghanaian entrepreneur, Richard Nii Armah-Quaye.
ACiD Africa, in a statement said, the scrutiny by the FIC forms part of broader national efforts to “sanitize the financial systems and eliminate the criminals and charlatans to restore hope and confidence in the international business community.”
According to the organisation, Ghana’s recent ratings on corruption perception indices have painted the country as vulnerable to diverse criminal activities, including “cyber-thievery, money-laundering, grand corruption and state-capture.”
It warned that these developments have “decimated our National Integrity System (NIS)” and undermined investor confidence.
The FIC, a few months ago, froze the accounts of Mr. Armah-Quaye, founder of Bills Micro Credit and now President of RNAQ Holdings, under Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020.
The move was part of what ACiD Africa described as “a wider inter-agency probe into alleged financial irregularities.”
However, after months of investigations, the FIC restored his access to the accounts, citing a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.
ACiD Africa noted that Mr. Armah-Quaye “patiently cooperated fully with FIC officials throughout the investigation” and “provided thorough explanations of his business and financial activities.”
The group emphasised that the FIC’s findings align with its own assessment of the businessman, saying the clean bill of health “buttress[es] ACiD Africa’s due diligence conducted on him and his businesses as a genuine and credible assessment.”
The organisation disclosed that it had shortlisted Mr. Armah-Quaye for one of its Annual Excellence Awards, following months of independent due diligence.
It praised him as “a potentially prosperous young businessman” whose conduct should inspire other Ghanaian entrepreneurs to uphold integrity in corporate practice.
ACiD Africa also applauded the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for what it called its continued commitment to combating corruption and financial crimes, saying it “lives up to the national expectation in the fight against corruption and organized economic crimes.”
The group expressed its readiness to collaborate with state institutions, including EOCO, to “beat down corruption and sanitize the National Integrity System.”
ACiD Africa stressed that despite recent negative portrayals of Ghana’s business environment, efforts by bodies such as the FIC demonstrate that the country “still remains the destination worthy of business and investments in Africa and the sub-region.”
