Going after white collar criminals, corrupt officials… We just want to get concrete evidence - Granger

Going after white collar criminals, corrupt officials… We just want to get concrete evidence – Granger

Mar 09, 2016 News

While sections of society have been getting somewhat agitated in their wait for justice as it relates to white collar

President David Granger

crimes, the government has made it clear that it will not be rushed at the expense of efficiency.
Recently, President David Granger was asked about the state of affairs with regards to the forensic audits that cost the nation $133M but have been delayed in being made public.
Granger was also questioned whether his government will be moving soon to ensure that those suspected white collar criminals who reigned under the PPP/C administration are brought to justice.
He told reporters that while it may sound quite simple and attractive to lay charges, it is imperative that strong evidence is gathered before the relevant authorities can move to that stage.
Granger said, “There must be strong evidence.”
The President said that indeed the audit might have discovered that there have been deficiencies or even malpractice “but that in itself is not evidence which is necessarily acceptable in the court.”
He said therefore that once all the audit reports have been laid before Cabinet and Cabinet considers them, the documents will then be put in the hands of the law enforcement officials.
The President sought to make it clear, “The cabinet does not direct the courts; once we have recommendations from the law officers that there are cases to be answered, that is the course we will follow. We do not tell the courts what to do. If there are cases to answer the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and others who are qualified to do so will give advice.”
Granger said that at this point he would not like to be pointing fingers at persons who are likely to face the brunt of the law. He suggested that some persons who might have committed crimes may have very well fallen under the radar.
“There might have been stuff that the investigations may not have brought to light; there might have been a hidden hand. Persons who are involved in criminal activities try to conceal their tracks, so I do not want to guess or point fingers,” said Granger.
The President added that laying charges sounds like a “very attractive option but I would like to emphasize that we need to have evidence before we run to court like a headless chicken. We just want to get the concrete evidence.”
Granger said that it is most important that the wrong that has been done is identified so that those things can be corrected and his government can prevent malpractice from recurring.
“It is not a witch hunt, but we want persons who would have committed offences to be tried and justice done. But in so doing, we would like to make sure that the cases are strong enough to bring about convictions,” said Granger.
(Abena Rockcliffe)