Baffour Awuah: Is there evidence of criminal purpose? – Vickie Bright quizzes
by Gabs · MyNewsGh.comLawyer Vickie Bright has said the payment of legal fees in the Baffour Awuah case should not by itself be treated as evidence of a crime without proof of criminal intent.
The issue came up after host Samson Lardy asked Bright whether the lawyer involved in the SIC Life transaction should be brought into the investigation, particularly over questions surrounding the settlement and legal fees.
Bright said the authorisation of the settlement was primarily a matter for the company’s board, but any criminal allegation against a lawyer would require evidence of intent, knowledge or conduct pointing to an offence.
“The dividing line for me is evidence of criminal purpose,” she said on Joy News. She added: “Because the minute you mention crime, intention has to come in.”
Bright said investigators should therefore ask whether there was evidence of criminal purpose, knowledge or conduct rather than simply focus on the fact that lawyers were paid.
“Is there any evidence of criminal purpose? Is there any evidence of knowledge? Is there any evidence of conduct?” she asked.
She also cautioned against the state going too far into private arrangements between lawyers and their clients.
“We need to be careful that the state doesn’t now start delving into private arrangements for lawyers’ fees with their clients,” she said.
Bright, however, accepted that the amount paid could raise a legitimate question for investigators, depending on the circumstances.
She referred to the Ghana Bar Association’s scale of fees for debt recovery, saying the applicable percentage is between 10% and 25% of the amount actually recovered.
“When you look at the GBA’s fees, the scale of fees for debt recovery, the percentage is between 10% and 25%,” she said.
She stressed that the calculation is based on the amount recovered rather than simply the amount being pursued.
“That is of the amount actually recovered, not the amount that you are actually fighting,” Bright said.
The question of legal fees has featured prominently in the wider dispute. Baffour Awuah has himself rejected allegations that GHC2.2 million from a GHC5 million settlement was paid to him or his former law firm as legal fees.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
Thanks for reading from MyNewsGH as a news publishing website from Ghana. You are free to share this story via the various social media platforms and follow us on; Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram etc.