Attorney-General sues Siaw Agyapong, J.A. Plantpool over purported $2m DRIP overpayment

The Attorney-General has filed a suit against J.A. Plantpool (GH) Limited and its Executive Chairman, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, seeking to recover US$2 million in what the State describes as excess payment made under the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) contract.

The writ, filed with the High Court in Accra, alleges that the company received payment in excess of the actual arithmetic value of the equipment supplied under a $178.7 million procurement contract signed in February 2024.

According to the Attorney-General’s statement of claim, the contract involved the supply of 2,420 units of earth-moving equipment under the government’s DRIP initiative.

However, the suit claims that while the contract sum stated in the agreement was $178,704,739.50, the actual total of the listed equipment in Schedule 1 of the contract amounted to $176,704,739.50, leaving an unexplained difference of $2 million.

“The said sum of USD 2,000,000.00 has no basis whatsoever within the four corners of the Contract,” the Attorney-General argued in the filing.

The State further contends that the amount was paid “without any corresponding equipment, service, or other consideration” provided by the defendants.

Court documents indicate that the contract was executed between the Office of the President, the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), and J.A. Plantpool under a single-source procurement arrangement approved by the Public Procurement Authority on January 10, 2024.

The Attorney-General alleges that the inflated figure was subsequently used as the basis for all payments made under the agreement, including an initial mobilisation payment and subsequent transfers facilitated through OmniBSIC Bank.

The suit further argues that Dr. Siaw Agyepong, as the person who executed and directed the contract on behalf of the company, “knew or ought reasonably to have known of the discrepancy” in the figures.

“The 1st Defendant and the 2nd Defendant nonetheless accepted, retained, and continue to retain the said sum of USD 2,000,000.00,” the filing stated.

The State is therefore asking the court to order the defendants, jointly and severally, to refund the US$2 million together with interest at the prevailing commercial rate until final payment.

The Attorney-General is also seeking any additional reliefs the court may consider appropriate.

The filing additionally states that the National Intelligence Bureau has been directed to charge directors of J.A. Plantpool in connection with the matter.