Atlas Commodities Limited has dismissed allegations that it exploited the public appointment of its founding Chief Executive, Ato Boateng, to gain unfair access to state infrastructure, describing such claims as “misleading and mischievous.”
In a statement dated February 24, the company said documents in its possession prove that its working relationship with the state-owned Produce Buying Company (PBC) predates Mr Boateng’s appointment as Deputy CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in February 2025.
“It will therefore be misleading and mischievous for any entity that is party to these agreements to suggest otherwise,” the company stated.
According to Atlas, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PBC in October 2023, more than a year before Mr Boateng took up public office.
The company also referenced a tripartite Sustainability Cooperation Agreement involving PBC, Atlas, and the Rostoff Foundation, which was signed on October 11, 2023.
Mr Boateng signed both agreements on behalf of Atlas in his capacity as Chief Executive at the time.
The agreements, Atlas explained, allowed it to use PBC’s operational infrastructure across cocoa-buying districts in exchange for providing financing support, international offtaker connections, and funding for certification under the Rainforest Alliance programme.
“This was a purely commercial arrangement, not a political favour,” the company said.
Signatories and operational framework
The documents attached to the statement show that PBC was represented by its then Managing Director, Kweku Nkawah, and Deputy Managing Director for Finance, Vivian Boadi Aprems.
Atlas was represented by Mr Boateng and its Finance Officer, Suzanne Opoku Boateng.
The company said this formal partnership governed how both parties operated and provided the legal basis for their collaboration in cocoa-buying districts.
The clarification follows allegations by the Minority in Parliament that Atlas had been operating in PBC warehouses without proper authorisation, in breach of COCOBOD regulations, which prohibit the transfer of warehouse certificates between companies.
The Minority had argued that Atlas’s access to PBC facilities suggested undue influence arising from Mr Boateng’s position at COCOBOD.
Atlas, however, acknowledged that it temporarily used PBC depot facilities in the Volta Region in December 2025, but insisted this was done within the framework of its existing relationship with PBC.
The company said the facilities were made available at the invitation of PBC’s District Manager in Hohoe, and that jute sacks borrowed at the time were later fully replaced.
While defending its conduct, Atlas conceded that the authorisation for the facility use may not have gone through the highest corporate channels.
“Admittedly, access to the PBC facilities was granted at the district level within the context of established operational relationships,” the statement acknowledged.
The company noted that this procedural lapse, rather than any political interference, was the real issue.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com