Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC, Sedina Tamakloe, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
Also, the former Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Axim, has received a five-year sentence with hard labor.
Both individuals were convicted on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and violating public procurement laws.
The trial, which began in 2019, involved six witnesses presented by the state. Sedina Tamakloe was tried in absentia after she left the country for a medical checkup with court permission. Daniel Axim testified in person but did not present any witnesses.
The convictions stem from the misappropriation of funds intended for MASLOC activities between 2013 and 2016.
The state called six witnesses in all while the first accused person Sedina Tamakloe was tried in absentia as she absconded after obtaining the permission of the court to seek a medical checkup outside the country. The second accused person, however, testified in person but did not call any witnesses.
The offences for which the accused persons have been found guilty border on the appropriation of monies meant for MASLOc activities between the period of 2013 and 2016.
In one of the instances, the convicts were found to have withdrawn GH¢500,000 as a loan for Obaatampa Savings and Loans company but demanded a refund of the amount when the financial institution refused to yield a 24% percentage on the matter.