MPOBB condemns recent arrest of its lawyers
In a public statement dated 8 May 2026, the firm said Mr. Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, a Senior Partner, and Ms. Sophia Kokor, a Junior Partner, were arrested after they visited the Bureau of National Investigations, BNI, offices at Kawukudi to provide legal representation to Messrs. Philip Ayesu and Viraj Bhat
A renowned law firm in Ghana, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners, MPOBB, has condemned the recent arrest and detention of two of its lawyers in connection with investigations involving Power Distribution Services, PDS, and the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG.
In a public statement dated 8 May 2026, the firm said Mr. Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, a Senior Partner, and Ms. Sophia Kokor, a Junior Partner, were arrested after they visited the Bureau of National Investigations, BNI, offices at Kawukudi to provide legal representation to Messrs. Philip Ayesu and Viraj Bhat.
According to the firm, BNI and Economic and Organised Crime Office, EOCO, officials refused to allow the lawyers to represent their clients, claiming the lawyers were themselves “persons of interest”. The firm said the situation later escalated into the restriction of their movement, interrogation and arrest.
MPOBB said the lawyers were questioned on what it described as vague and unsubstantiated allegations of “Dishonestly Receiving” and “Abetment of Money Laundering”. The firm added that no specific figures were cited and no property allegedly dishonestly received was identified.
The two lawyers were detained until the evening of Friday, 1 May 2026, before being granted bail in the sum of GHS50 million each.
The law firm also rejected media reports suggesting that the lawyers were involved in the transfer of GHS850 million from a CalBank account allegedly belonging to ECG. It said those reports were misleading and had damaged the professional reputation of the firm and the lawyers involved.
MPOBB explained that the four individuals whose arrests had been reported were participants in arbitration proceedings between PDS, ECG and the Government of Ghana at the London Court of International Arbitration. The firm said the arbitration had already been concluded, with an award delivered in November 2025.
According to the statement, the arbitration dismissed the reliefs of PDS, declined jurisdiction over ECG’s counterclaim and awarded costs against PDS. The firm said those costs had since been fully paid, insisting that PDS does not owe ECG any money beyond the costs settled through the arbitration process.
The firm further challenged references to an “Interim Protocol”, explaining that the arrangement between PDS and ECG lasted less than three months, from 6 August 2019 to 23 October 2019. It said the protocol did not amend or replace the main concession agreements and had already been addressed during the London arbitration.
MPOBB described the arrest of its lawyers as unlawful, intimidating and a dangerous precedent. It said the use of criminal processes against lawyers for work done in lawful international arbitration proceedings raises serious concerns about the right to legal representation and the independence of legal practitioners.
“When lawyers are arrested for discharging their professional obligations and are then denied the right to represent their clients, the integrity of the entire justice system is compromised,” the firm stated.
The firm said its Mining, Energy and Power Team has represented the consortium behind the ECG concession since 2015, including through the Millennium Challenge Account Compact 2 process, the incorporation of PDS and the period following the termination of the concession in 2019.
MPOBB insists the matter is not merely a criminal investigation but a direct assault on the right to counsel, professional immunity and the rule of law.
