Four politically exposed Ghanaians, including former ministers and a judge found in Dubai Unlocked
One former minister is linked to 20 properties costing over $6.2 million
Four politically exposed persons in Ghana have been cited in an investigative report named Dubai Unlocked, by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to own properties in Dubai worth several million dollars.
The individuals, including former ministers of state and a former Supreme Court judge, are linked to apartments in Dubai worth millions of dollars.
The individuals are Moses Asaga, a former minister of state and former Member of Parliament for Nabdam for many years. Inusah Fuseini, a former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and former minister of state, Justice Anthony Benin, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and Dr Joseph Kwaku Asamoah, a former finance director of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
Dr Asamoah who is registered as co-owner of two properties costing a total of $623,600 as found in the leaked documents, however told OCCRP that he had not paid for them and that they were acquired by another person. But he didn’t mention the person.
Moses Asaga who was also once the CEO of the Ghana Petroleum Commission is linked to one property costing $133,100.
Justice Benin, who also once served on the ECOWAS Court is linked to two properties costing a total of $412,300.
Inusah Fuseini is linked to 20 properties costing a total of more than $6.2 million.
According to the OCCRP, that worked on the investigation with reporters from across the world, they uncovered in the leaked property data, dozens of other convicted criminals, fugitives, and sanctioned individuals who have owned at least one piece of real estate in Dubai. There are also political figures and their associates, including those accused of corruption or who have kept their properties hidden from the public.
The OCCRP said the leaked records, which date largely from 2022 and 2020, were initially obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that researches international crime and conflict. The data was then shared with the Norwegian financial outlet E24 and OCCRP, who coordinated an investigative project with more than 70 media outlets around the globe.
Journalists spent months confirming the identity of owners in the data using open source research, official records, previous leaks, and other forms of reporting. Only those individuals whose identities could be verified and who are considered in the public interest — either because of their alleged criminal pasts or political prominence — have been included in this project, the OCCRP said.
The new data it said, builds on earlier leaks of Dubai property records from 2016 and 2020, providing a more up-to-date look at who owns what across the city’s skyscrapers and opulent villa communities. From alleged Australian cocaine traffickers to the relatives of African dictators and a coterie of sanctioned Hezbollah financiers, the findings reveal how the city has opened its arms to disreputable characters from around the globe.
UAE officials — including at the ministries of interior, economy, and justice — and Dubai Police did not respond to detailed questions, but the country’s embassies in the U.K. and Norway sent a brief response to reporters, saying that the country “takes its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously.”
“In its continuing pursuit of global criminals, the UAE works closely with international partners to disrupt and deter all forms of illicit finance,” the statement added. “The UAE is committed to continuing these efforts and actions more than ever today and over the longer term.”