Court slashes Osei Assibey Antwi’s bail to GH¢120m

Former National Service Authority (NSA) Executive Director, Osei Assibey Antwi, has secured a further variation of his bail conditions, with the High Court on Thursday, December 11, reducing the bail sum to GH¢120 million with two sureties—down from the previous GH¢630 million. The latest decision follows an application by lawyers for the former NSA boss, who is standing trial on charges including stealing, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state during his tenure as CEO of the Authority. Mr. Antwi had initially been slapped with a bail of GH¢800 million, which was later reviewed to GH¢630 million, before Thursday’s further downward revision. Under the new terms, the two sureties are required to justify with landed property valued at GH¢80 million each. All other bail conditions, including the seizure of his passport and placement on the no-flight list, remain unchanged. Prosecutors had opposed the application, arguing that the severity of the charges with potential sentences running as high as 25 years for stealing justified the original bail terms. Defence lawyers, however, insisted the earlier sums were impossible to meet and effectively amounted to a denial of bail.