The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) says its investigation into contractual dealings between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) resulted in savings of more than GH¢5.7 billion for the Republic.
The disclosure is contained in the OSP’s 2025 Half-Yearly Report, released in December 2025 and signed by the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng.
“The OSP investigation saved the Republic an aggregate of Five Billion Seven Hundred and Thirty Million Nine Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Cedis Forty-Two Pesewas (GH¢5,730,975,354.42),” the report stated.
It added that: “The accused in the SML case deliberately sought to deprive the Republic of a further Two Billion Seven Hundred and Ninety-Nine Million Six Hundred and Four Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-Four United States Dollars Seventy-One Cents (US$2,799,604,864.71).”
On October 30, 2025, the OSP publicly presented its findings at a press briefing, focusing on the contractual relationships involving SML, the GRA and the Ministry of Finance.
The agreements were intended to strengthen revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, upstream petroleum production, and the minerals and metals value chain.
However, the investigation concluded that “there was no genuine need for contracting SML for the obligations it purported to perform,” adding that the contracts were awarded through “self-serving official patronage, sponsorship and promotion based on false and unverified claims.”
According to the report, the contracts were riddled with serious breaches of statutory requirements, with mandatory prior approvals “wantonly disregarded” by public officials who acted with “emboldened impunity.”
“There was no established financial management system of monitoring and verification to ensure that the Republic was obtaining value for money paid to SML, and the payment channels were set on automatic mode, detached from actual performance, causing financial loss to the Republic,” the report added.
The OSP said its investigations revealed a conspiracy involving former Finance Minister Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta; his former Chief of Staff, Ernest Darko Akore; former GRA Commissioners-General Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; former Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA, Isaac Crentsil; the Member of Parliament for Jaman South and former Customs Commissioner, Col. (rtd) Kwadwo Damoah; and Evans Adusei, the beneficial owner and Chief Executive Officer of SML.
“The actions of these persons created the opportunity for SML to largely pretend to perform the services under the various contracts, leading to immense financial loss to the Republic of about One Billion Four Hundred and Thirty-Six Million Two Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Eight Cedis Fifty-Three Pesewas (GH¢1,436,249,828.53),” the report stated.
Following the publication of the findings, President John Dramani Mahama, on October 31, 2025, directed the termination of all public procurement contracts awarded to SML by the GRA and the Ministry of Finance.
The OSP noted that investigations into the SML matter have now been completed.
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