The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced that it will charge former Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta and five other former government officials by the end of November 2025, following a detailed investigation into alleged corruption and financial irregularities linked to contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 30, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said the investigation uncovered evidence of corruption, abuse of office, and breaches of procurement laws involving senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, the GRA, and individuals connected to SML.
According to Mr Agyebeng, those to be charged include Ernest Akore, former Chef de Cabinet to the former Minister of Finance; Emmanuel Kofi Nti, former Commissioner-General of the GRA; Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General of the GRA; Isaac Crentsil, former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA and General Manager of SML; and Kwadwo Damoah, former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA and current Member of Parliament for Jaman South.
“The outcome of the investigation is that the OSP will charge the following persons with various corruption and corruption-related offences before the end of November 2025,” the Special Prosecutor stated.
Mr Agyebeng explained that his office would also take steps to recover financial losses suffered by the state as a result of the alleged misconduct. “As part of the process, the OSP will seek to recover the financial loss caused to the Republic from the persons listed above,” he said.
The OSP further revealed that it would recover GH₵125 million from SML, which it said represents unjust enrichment obtained unfairly through the disputed contracts. “The OSP will recover a total amount of GH₵125 million from SML by way of disgorgement of unjust enrichment of overpayment, by the return of the benefit this amount obtained unfairly at the expense of the Republic,” Mr Agyebeng added.
He noted that the investigation had found “glaring statutory breaches, conflicts of interest, and unjustified payments” associated with the SML agreements, concluding that “there was no genuine need for contracting SML for the work it purported to perform.”
The Special Prosecutor also criticised the GRA for failing to provide the full details of the agreements between SML and its third-party collaborators, describing the omission as a serious transparency lapse.
He added that the contracts were “blighted by statutory breaches” and that SML lacked both the infrastructure and professional capacity to carry out the services it was hired to deliver.
source: Graphic Online
