Charles Bissue, the former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), has labeled the recent criminal charges brought against him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) as unfounded.
On April 28, 2025, the OSP lodged 15 criminal charges against Mr. Bissue and his alleged associate, Andy Thomas Owusu, related to corruption and the misuse of public office in a mining licensing scandal involving an amount of GH¢35,000.
The charges, submitted to the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra, claim that between January and February 2019, Mr. Bissue, during his tenure as IMCIM Secretary, illicitly accepted bribes amounting to GH¢35,000 from Benjamin Adjapong—both directly and through Owusu—to expedite the renewal of an expired mining license for ORR Resources Enterprise without the necessary documentation.
However, Mr. Bissue has raised concerns regarding the timing of these charges, emphasizing that the prosecution is being conducted under a new administration, separate from the one during which he served.
He has pledged to contest the OSP’s allegations through appropriate legal channels, asserting that he acted in full accordance with the law.
‘I firmly maintain that I have consistently adhered to both the legal and ethical standards of my position and the laws of the Republic of Ghana. Any implication of wrongdoing is unfounded and will be robustly contested through due process,’ he stated.
Mr. Bissue has called for complete transparency in the trial, urging the OSP to provide a full, unedited version of the investigative video that supports the prosecution.
In addition, he reiterated his intention to fully cooperate with the legal proceedings, requested public restraint, and encouraged confidence in the judicial system’s integrity.
