Sedina Tamakloe received a 10-year prison sentence in the MASLOC case.

The former CEO of MASLOC, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has been sentenced to ten years in prison and hard labor.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the sentence was announced in court.

She received the same punishment as Daniel Axim, the former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC, who will serve five years in prison and hard work.

On 78 charges, including conspiring to steal, inflicting financial loss to the state, money laundering, and causing damage to public property in violation of the public procurement legislation, they were both found guilty.

Since 2019, the two have been put on trial.

The state called six witnesses in all, according to a citinewsroom.com source. Sedina Tamakloe was tried absentee as she fled after getting the Accra High Court’s approval to seek medical attention abroad.

Context: During their time at MASLOC, the prosecution claimed that the defendants embezzled GH¢3.19 million and purposefully caused the state to lose GH¢1.97 million in funds. They were also accused of entering into unapproved agreements that left the government with debts totaling GH¢61.74 million.

In addition, GH¢22.15 million in damages to public property, GH¢273,743 in inappropriate payments, and GH¢3.7 million in money laundering were also included in the allegations.

On February 24, 2023, the prosecution’s motion to continue the trial while Attionu was away was approved by the court, which is a noteworthy step. After Attionu was given permission to visit the US in 2021 for medical care but did not come back, this decision was made.

The court ordered former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) CEO Alex Mould and actor Gavivina Tamakloe to pay a GH5 million bail bond to the state before the trial in absentia on January 24, 2023. This was because they were unable to present Attionu, for whom they served as sureties.

The prosecution claims that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) looked into Attionu and Axim’s alleged fraudulent payments of MASLOC monies in 2017.

Attionu purportedly sought a 24% interest rate from Obaatanpa after receiving the cheque. Attionu wanted a monetary refund from Obaatanpa after he refused. Obaatanpa complied, giving Attionu back GH¢500,000 in cash on August 28, 2014.

In a letter dated August 28, 2014, the company acknowledged receiving the repaid amount; but, upon further inspection, MASLOC could not locate any documentation of the repayment. Attionu was accused of taking the GH¢500,000 for his benefit.

In addition, even though Obaatanpa had already received a refund, MASLOC still required interest payments on the principal investment in 2015. Discrepancies found in later examinations pointed to Attionu’s possible financial theft.