Agyapa Deal Lands UK Law Firm In Dirty Conflict Of Interest In Ghana

The coming days, will be interesting for a prominent UK-based law firm; White and Case, as the friendship between one of its partners and a cousin of Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo, is giving the international firm, bad publicity and an apparel of corruption, following the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal.

Joshua Siaw, a partner in White & Case, who doubles as the Director of the firm’s Africa Practice, has variously been mentioned as a good friend of Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko and through whom, many Ghana government legal deals, have landed in the conference room of the UK firm, mostly without competitive bidding and without value for money analysis.

Indeed, many have asked why, a state institution bypassed competent law firms here in Ghana, to handover legal jobs to foreigners; White and Case, who might be found wanting in the appreciation and application of Ghanaian laws.

But behind this arrangement, is a grimy conflict of interest situation with these legal jobs ending up on the desk of Africa Legal Associates, a law firm owned by Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, and his wife, Lawyer Nana Adwoa Hackman.

The Herald, has picked up signals that, Joshua Siaw, is beginning to feel uncomfortable about the negative publicity and claims of corruption White & Case is getting associated with in the Ghanaian media.

Sources close to Mr Siaw, who The Herald spoke to, said he was afraid that sooner than later, the UK authorities might be breathing heavily on the respected law firm per that countries highly ethical standards governing the legal profession and practice.

Joshua Siaw, who has been knighted by the Queen of England, as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), is agitated there could be severe sanctions.

His friend, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has on various media platforms, boasted about his Accra-based law firm’s partnership with White & Case, revealing how the two law firms, have been working for lots of state institutions in Ghana.

He told The Herald in his office on July 27, 2020, that his Africa Legal Associates’ involvement in Agyapa Royalties, which had just changed its name from Asaase Royalties Limited, is as a result of the partnership with White and Case.

He was, however, angry when questioned about how his partners won the legal job and subcontracted to his law firm.

In the presence of one of his partners; Nii Odotei, Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko, later claimed, his firm had been paid less than US$100,000, for the time his law firm and Ace Ankomah’s law firm, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, had put into the transaction, including long hours of meetings and telephone calls.

Gabby, told The Herald, that the two Ghanaian law firms, were subcontracted by the UK-based law firm; White & Case, in the transaction, leading to the creation of the offshore company, Asaase Royalties Limited, which was later changed to Agyapa, following initial concerns from his law firm about the clash in name with his radio station; Asaase Radio based in Accra.

The name Asaase, was also prominent at the Registrar Generals’ department with companies into mining in the database. This he said, might conflict, hence the name change was suggested.

Parliament on August 14, approved the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited agreement with the government of Ghana, despite a walkout by the Minority. Agyapa Royalties is to receive and manage Ghana’s equity interests in mining companies, as well as royalties per the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, but the issue lacks transparency, suffered procurement infractions and lacked values for money analysis.

Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko, a cousin of both President Akufo-Addo and Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had publicly admitted working on the deal, as well as Ace Ankomah’s law firm, which was involved in the botched PDS transaction in which Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was to be privatized.

The Herald’s findings were that, aside White & Case partner, Joshua Siaw and his friendship with Mr Otchere-Darko, the White & Case in 2017, has advised the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on a landmark liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification project located in Tema, Ghana.

Coincidentally, Mr Asare-Otchere Darko’s wife, Nana Adwoa Hackman, is a board member of the GNPC and a co-partner of the Africa Legal Associates.

One Narinder Surae, who works with White & Case’s office in Johannesburg in South Africa, is part of Gabby’s law firm as an International Transactions’ Advisor.

Narinder boast of joining Africa Legal Associate in 2018 as International Transaction Advisor and has worked on major international transactions, including the multi-billion-dollar LNG transaction involving GNPC and, first Gazprom, and later, Rosneft, both of Russia.

The feeling on the ground is that he; Gabby, use his nexus in the Akufo-Addo government to get government legal deals awarded him to execute, using White & Case, as a clever front to drown any suspicion of favouritism.

Same White and Case law firm, was involved in the renegotiated Africa Middle East Resources Investment Group (Ameri) deal which got President Akufo-Addo’s first Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko sacked on August 6, 2018.

The Minister was sacked after attempting to renegotiate the build, own, operate, transfer arrangement for a 250MW combined-cycle gas turbine plant built under the Mahama administration, with its owner; AMERI and Metka, an engineering, procurement and construction contractor, went wrong.

But Nana Bediatuo Asante, a family member of the President, serving as his Executive Secretary remained at post although an Executive Approval rather than a Cabinet Approval, signed by Bediatuo and sent to Parliament, on behalf of the President, was described by Gabby as misleading.

Meanwhile, Veteran journalist, Kweku Baako, has said that Africa Legal Associates, owned by Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, was not paid $2million for its work on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement.

“It is not true that Gabby’s firm got $2million from the deal. It is not true that his firm is a beneficiary of $2million. It’s not even up to $105,000. It is the main transaction advisor that paid Gabby. It is about $103,000. It is not $2million”.

Interestingly, Mr Baako, did not mention how much Ace Ankomah’s law firm got paid per the transaction.

Another major issue that has emanated from the brouhaha surrounding the deal is the role of Osafo-Maafo’s son, leaving assertions of nepotism and conflict of interest.

Baako, however, thinks that people are making a molehill out of a mountain.

Baako likened it to Ibrahim Mahama’s companies getting contracts during Mahama regime and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, under the Rawlings regime.

“We have to be consistent. We have to be coherent. I don’t expect everybody to agree with me and I expect people who disagree to it vehemently, if they like violently, disagree with me and criticize me”.

“The way we’re going around this politics, the so-called conflict of interest relative to political office holders over the period, I see a certain huge area of inconsistency and incoherence and I’m worried about that. This is not going to be the last time this will happen; you bet me!”

Meanwhile on the website of White & Case, is a press release confirming it advised the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on a landmark liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification project located in Tema, Ghana.

Under the structure of the deal, Gazprom Global LNG Limited, a global subsidiary of global energy giant PAO Gazprom (Gazprom), the world’s largest gas producer, will supply LNG and convert it into gas through a regasification terminal at Tema, before selling the converted natural gas to GNPC.

The project’s proposed technical configuration comprises a floating regasification barge, floating storage unit and a pipeline to an existing gas grid in Tema. The contract with Gazprom is expected to significantly increase energy security in Ghana, providing the country with approximately 250 mmcf/d of competitively-priced gas. The contract volumes will satisfy more than 1,000 MW of thermal generating capacity.

The White & Case team in London which advised on the transaction was led by partners Joshua Siaw, Mukund Dhar and Chris Czarnocki, with support from associates Henry Brendon and Ahyoung Koo.

The team worked closely with the GNPC legal team, led by senior in-house Legal Counsel, Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe and Legal Counsel, Louisa Amoako Quaicoe, and GNPC’s commercial team led by Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong and Commercial General Manager, Joshua Dadzie, as well as Ghanaian law firm, Cromwell Gray LLP, led by managing partner, Kissi Agyebeng with support from associates Nana Aba Akwaaba Acquaah and Dennis Frimpong Agyebeng.

White & Case partner, Joshua Siaw, director of the Firm’s Africa Practice, who co-led the Firm’s deal team, said: “We are delighted to have been given this unique opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with excellent Ghanaian lawyers at both GNPC and Cromwell Gray LLP to negotiate a comprehensive and long term deal that will supply power to millions of Ghanaian customers.”

Partner Mukund Dhar, who co-led the Firm’s deal team, said: “White & Case has worked with GNPC and Cromwell Gray LLP to produce a commercial structure that leverages Gazprom’s unique portfolio of assets and balance sheet to reduce the risk to GNPC, while at the same time facilitating Gazprom’s access to a key regional market. Once completed, this project will deliver Sub-Saharan Africa’s first floating regasification facility and position Ghana as a regional energy hub in Africa.”

White & Case is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 41 offices across 29 countries. The Firm has been a leading advisor on African matters for more than 40 years, and was the first international law firm to establish an on-the-ground presence in Johannesburg in 1995. White & Case has won multiple awards for global oil & gas work, including its work in Africa. Most recently, Chambers Global 2017 ranked White & Case Band 1 for Projects & Energy and LNG (globally), and Band 1 for Projects & Energy (Africa-wide). The statement concluded.

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