Former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, and businessman Andy Thomas Owusu appeared before the Criminal Court 4 in Accra today to answer to 15 counts of corruption-related offences brought against them by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Both men pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from abuse of office for profit to acts that allegedly subverted Ghana’s regulatory efforts against illegal mining known locally as “galamsey”.
The court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, granted bail to the accused persons. Each was granted bail in the sum of GH₵ 200,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be justified.
The court further ordered both men to deposit their passports with the court registry and report to the Office of the Special Prosecutor once every month.
The case has been adjourned to May 29, 2025, for a Case Management Conference.
According to the OSP’s charge sheet, Mr. Bissue is alleged to have used his position as Secretary of the IMCIM to benefit personally during nationwide crackdown on illegal mining activities in 2019.
In one instance, the OSP alleges that Mr. Bissue received GH₵ 15,000 through Mr. Owusu from a businessman named Bemanin Adjapong.
The payment was allegedly made to fast-track the renewal of a mining license, bypassing the stringent verification and vetting processes laid out in the IMCIM’s official 2018 “Road Map for Lifting of Ban on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining.”
The charges claim that these actions not only violated anti-corruption laws but also undermined efforts to regulate the mining sector, a critical issue in a country grappling with environmental degradation and water pollution from illegal mining.
