The government has uncovered a scheme of money laundering involving businesspeople, both foreigners and Ghanaians, under the guise of imports.

The security agencies have taken over the case, and according to the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, they are going to ensure that all taxes, stolen from such money transfers under the guise of imports, will be refunded.

Aside from that, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has also been tasked to apply regulatory sanctions against all banks that connived with the said business people to launder the money.

Explaining, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said Ghana was being rigged, but oftentimes, politicians are the ones blamed alone for engaging in the rigging, whereas the ordinary people, both foreigners and Ghanaians living in the country, are the worst ones.

$31 billion laundered between 2020 and 2025

Citing an example of how the ordinary people living in Ghana and working as businessmen are rigging the country, he said between April 2020 and March 2025, a total of $31 billion was laundered in the name of imports, but no goods were actually imported into Ghana.

Presenting the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government in Parliament last Thursday, Dr Ato Forson indicated that from the IDF system, which is a customs instrument managed by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), it has been detected that between April 2020 and March 2025, those who processed invoices for imports, a total equivalent of $81billion [some are in Yuan, Pounds Sterling, Euros etc] in the name of imports expected to come to Ghana, out of that, an equivalent of $31 billion no imports came in at all.

"And these are importers, it is the foreign currency [the pressure on the cedi], no wonder the currency was depreciating that much. So you say that you are transferring money. It is more or less money laundering, taking money out of Ghana without paying the required taxes. We have done the work, we've now seen it, we've handed it over to investigative agencies, and now we will go for the tax," Dr Ato Forson said while explaining the budget statement in a television discussion programme on UTV monitored by Graphic Online.

He said the banks are involved and he has written to the central bank for them to impose regulatory sanctions, "and I want answers from the Bank of Ghana. If any bank has flouted any rule, I expect punishment. This cannot continue as a country. Because look, the same people will turn around and complain when the currency collapses."

“This country has been rigged and often we blame the politicians alone… Between 2020 April and March 2025, importers laundered $31 billion in the name of importe” - Ato Forson pic.twitter.com/jyQcLchinI

— DailyGraphic GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) November 16, 2025

"Then we have another group, they imported about GH¢91 billion equivalent of goods, but they misclassified it and reported about GH¢50 billion, something," the minister said in the television programme.

He said for the revenue loss, the previous [NPP] administration lost about GH¢11 billion worth of revenue that they could have easily gotten, but because of misclassification and all of that, they couldn't go for it. 

He said people are stealing from the state and "sometimes we always say that the politicians..., and we accuse each other and all, but it goes beyond the politics. It is also you, the Ghanaian citizen, all of us, we have a role to play to make this country a better place. You the importer, you, the citizen of this country, you have a role to play."

The leaders will lead but cannot do it alone without support from the people, "pay your taxes and hold me [Ato] accountable, and let me justify how I have used your taxes. If you think I have not used your taxes well, you have every right to say whatever to me, but you need to contribute, particularly when you have to do it."  

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh 

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