Kissi Agyebeng is the Special Prosecutor
The legal battle over the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contract has taken another step forward, as the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, filed two witness statements in court in the case involving former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and several others.
The accused persons are facing 75 counts, including allegedly causing financial loss of more than GH¢1.4 billion to the state in connection with the SML revenue assurance contract.
When the case was called at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on February 26, the Special Prosecutor informed the court that efforts were ongoing to file the remaining documents he intends to rely on to prosecute the case.
He also updated the court on attempts to serve the charge sheet on Ofori-Atta and Ernest Darko Akore, a former aide to the ex-minister, explaining that both men are currently outside Ghana.
“Since the former minister’s apprehension by the United States authorities on January 6, 2026, he is in custody,” he said, noting that initial proceedings against Ofori-Atta relate to an immigration violation.
He added that a second set of proceedings concerning an extradition request began this week.
The court was assured that an update on the presence of the accused persons would be provided at the next sitting. The case has been adjourned to March 26, 2026.
Among the accused are Col Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), a former Customs Commissioner and sitting MP for Jaman South; Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, both former Commissioner-Generals of the Ghana Revenue Authority; Isaac Crentsil, former Customs Commissioner; Evans Adusei, CEO of SML; and the company itself.
All have pleaded not guilty and are currently on bail.
The case stems from a revenue assurance contract awarded to SML under the previous administration.
The contract later sparked national controversy and was eventually cancelled following a directive by President John Dramani Mahama.
In the charge sheet, the Special Prosecutor alleged that the accused persons orchestrated a “criminal enterprise” beginning in 2017 to use the SML contract to unlawfully benefit the company, despite what he described as no genuine need for the services it purported to provide.
He stated: “The criminal enterprise was commenced in 2017 by the first, third, seventh, and eighth accused persons, with the other accused persons joining the adventure at various times. The criminal enterprise was characterised by no genuine need for contracting the eighth accused company for the obligations it purported to perform, and the contracts were secured for the eighth company through self-serving patronage and promotion by the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth accused persons based on false and unverified claims.”
The OSP further accused the accused persons of engaging in prohibited acts and “acted with increased emboldened impunity as they freely abused their public offices by using the offices for private benefit.”
He added that the six former officials enabled 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 accused persons based their actions on their false claims that the eighth accused company possessed technical expertise and capability in revenue assurance, and that the technical expertise and capability of the eighth accused person had greatly increased revenue for the republic; and further that the eighth accused company exclusively possessed the only patented and proven technological systems in the world for value chain transaction audits, external price verification and measurement audit services in the downstream petroleum, upstream petroleum and minerals sectors,” the OSP added.
NA/AE
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