Charles Cromwell Nanabanyin Onuawonto Bissue, former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), and Andy Thomas Owusu have been granted bail in the sum of GHC200,000 each after pleading not guilty to multiple corruption-related charges before the High Court in Accra.

Mr. Bissue is accused of receiving bribes and accepting gifts as a public officer to bypass legal requirements for mining license approvals. Andy Thomas Owusu is also facing charges for his alleged role in facilitating these corrupt transactions.

The two, who are facing 15 counts of offences including abuse of office for profit, were each granted bail with two sureties—one of whom must be justified.

The charges include Six (6) counts of "Using Public Office for Profit", Three (3) charges of "Corruption by a Public Officer", Three (3) charges of "Corruption of a public officer" and Three (3) charges of "Accepting Bribe to influence a public officer" which falls under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

As part of the conditions, the accused persons are to submit their passports to the court registry and report to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) once every month.

The case has been adjourned to May 29, allowing for further proceedings to continue after the initial hearing.

Court documents allege that Bissue received a sum of GHC15,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong through Andy Owusu in January 2019, a transaction believed to have occurred in Accra.

Prosecutors say the payment was in exchange for using his public position for personal gain—an act which contravenes Section 179c (a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).