BREAKING: Asante Akyem North MP detained at Amsterdam Airport
Parliament has confirmed the detention of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North Constituency, Kwame Ohene Frimpong, at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In a statement issued by the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the House said it had been formally informed of the development and is....
Parliament has confirmed the detention of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North Constituency, Kwame Ohene Frimpong, at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
In a statement issued by the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the House said it had been formally informed of the development and is currently engaging Ghana’s diplomatic mission in The Hague for further details.
According to the statement, the Rt. Hon. Speaker and Parliamentary leadership are in close contact with the mission to establish the circumstances surrounding the detention of the Independent Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North Constituency.
“It has come to the attention of Parliament that the Hon Member for Asante Akyem North Constituency, Mr Kwame Ohene Frimpong, has been detained at the Schipol Airport, Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
“The Rt Hon Speaker and the Leadership of the House are in touch with Ghana’s Mission in The Hague for detailed information on the matter. The public will be duly informed appropriately on this matter.,” the statement said.
Parliament assured the public that further updates will be communicated as more information becomes available.
Recent reports and denials
Persons close to him allege that the MP travelled out of Ghana on Saturday evening and arrived in Amsterdam on Sunday morning, where he was reportedly picked up by security officials before completing immigration procedures. In the recent past, the MP had denied allegations linking him to suspected financial crimes and human trafficking-related offences. Sources behind the claims further allege that the MP had previously been under investigation by US law enforcement agencies over suspected financial crimes linked to an African restaurant and supermarket business in Chicago several years ago. According to the allegations, the business was supposedly used as a conduit for moving suspected fraudulent funds connected to individuals who are currently serving prison sentences in the United States. The reports also claim that the FBI had monitored the activities for years following an alleged raid on the business premises, during which several women said to have been sponsored from the United Kingdom to the United States were reportedly arrested in connection with multiple bank accounts allegedly used to transfer funds. The women were reportedly Ghanaian-British citizens. When these claims first emerged, Kwame Frimpong issued denialsand pointed to persons he said wished him ill. “There are people who ignore all the positive things I have been doing. Instead, they focus on spreading lies and wishing me ill,” he stated.