Former Finance Minister Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, along with Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and six others, has been charged with 78 counts related to alleged procurement violations and causing a financial loss of GH¢1.4 billion to the state. The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed these charges at the High Court in Accra on November 18, 2025.
The co-accused include Ernest Darko Akore, former Chef de Cabinet at the Ministry of Finance, Emmanuel Kofi Nti, and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, both former Commissioners at the Ghana Revenue Authority. Also charged are Isaac Crentsil, Kwadwo Damoah, and Evans Adusei, Chief Executive of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited, which is named as the eighth entity involved.
Charges against them encompass conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, causing financial loss, misuse of public office, and manipulating procurement processes for personal gain. The charge sheet, signed by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, details that the accused collaborated between June 2017 and December 2024 in a scheme related to contracts for audit services in the downstream petroleum sector.
Mr. Ofori-Atta allegedly facilitated a payment of GH¢468.5 million to SML in 2019 for services that had not been approved by Parliament or the Public Procurement Authority. Mr. Nti is accused of awarding contracts to SML post-retirement from the GRA, acting without proper authority, and falsely certifying payments exceeding GH¢15 million to SML without proper documentation.
Prosecutors claim that the accused established an automatic payment system for SML that did not correlate with actual service delivery, and SML received payments for work it was not equipped to perform. The prosecution also notes that false claims were made regarding SML’s possession of exclusive technology for revenue assurance, and all contracts were awarded without competitive bidding or the necessary approvals.
The case arose from a complaint made to the OSP in December 2023, which led to a government suspension of the contracts in January 2024. Following a presidential directive on October 31, 2025, the contracts were officially terminated. Prosecutors indicated that SML could have earned an estimated $2.8 billion over five years if the contracts had proceeded.
SOURCE: GRAPHIC ONLINE
