Scores of people in Kumasi gathered at the Kumasi Airport in the Ashanti Region to give The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was given a rousing welcome by a massive crowd at the Kumasi Airport upon his return from Brazil after days of dominating media headlines over a whopping cash transaction in the UK.
An official of the Ghana International Bank in the UK Mark Arthur has been dismissed after the traditional ruler of the Kingdom of Ashanti, summoned him to his multimillion-pound residence in Henley-on-Thames and handed him a bag containing almost £200,000 in sterling as well as $200,000 in US currency for saving at the bank.
The aggrieved banker, from New Barnet, Hertfordshire, a dual citizen of the UK and Ghana, drove to his own home with the cash and then took it in an Uber taxi to the bank’s City offices for deposit in the king’s account, he told an employment tribunal. Authorities sacked him for allegedly flouting banking laws.
The development dragged Asantehene’s name into an allegation of money laundering, however, the bank in a statement said he is clean, although it penalized its staff.
To show solidarity with the king, various groups in the Asante Kingdom such as the Ashanti Youth Association, Kumasi Youth Association and Asante Students Union as well as a retinue of chiefs, politicians and heads of the security agencies lined up at the airport to welcome Otumfuo.
Some held banners with the inscription: “Long live the King” and danced to rich traditional songs to usher in their king. Below are some pictures from the scene:
