OSP to file charges against former Finance Minister, top GRA officials over SML contracts

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced plans to file criminal charges against several high-profile individuals implicated in the controversial revenue assurance contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).

Those expected to face prosecution include former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, current and former Commissioner-Generals of the GRA, Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Emmanuel Kofi Nti, as well as senior GRA officials Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoa.

Also named is Ernest Akore, former Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance.

The move follows months of investigations by the OSP into the controversial SML-GRA agreements, which have long drawn public scrutiny for alleged irregularities. The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, said his office’s probe uncovered evidence of corruption, abuse of office, and violations of procurement laws in the award and execution of the contracts.

“The evidence gathered by my office points to criminal conduct on the part of certain officials during the negotiation, approval, and implementation of the SML contracts,” Agyebeng stated at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday.

He said the OSP will formally announce the specific charges and commence legal proceedings by the end of November 2025.

Findings from the Investigation

According to the Special Prosecutor, the investigation revealed “glaring statutory breaches, conflicts of interest, and unjustified payments” tied to the revenue assurance contracts.

“There was no genuine need for contracting SML for the work it purported to perform,” Agyebeng emphasized, describing the contracts as “blighted by statutory breaches.” He further disclosed that SML lacked both the technical infrastructure and professional capacity to deliver the services it was contracted to provide.

The OSP also faulted the GRA for failing to submit complete documentation, including full agreements between SML and its third-party collaborators. Agyebeng described this omission as a major lapse in transparency and accountability, which undermined public trust in the entire procurement process.

Background

The SML-GRA contracts, signed under the previous administration of Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister, were intended to enhance revenue assurance and monitoring in the petroleum and downstream sectors. However, civil society groups and media investigations raised concerns about the legality, value-for-money justification, and procurement integrity of the agreements.

The OSP launched a full-scale investigation earlier this year following mounting public pressure and preliminary audit findings that questioned the propriety of payments made to SML.

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