Five former officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), including two former Commissioner-Generals, are among eight persons currently under investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) following their arrests last Tuesday night in connection with allegations of a fraudulent contract in the operations of Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
A former Commissioner-General of GRA, Reverend Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; an ex-Commissioner of Customs and current General Manager at SML, Isaac Crentsil, and a former Technical Advisor at GRA and now Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SML, Christian Tetteh Sottie, are in the custody of the anti-graft institution after they were picked up in a simultaneous OSP swoop.
The Special Prosecutor, however, extended the dragnet to other high-profile individuals, namely the Legal Consultant to SML and former Deputy Commissioner of Legal at GRA, Philip Mensah; and another former Commissioner-General of the GRA, Kofi Nti.
Also in the OSP’s net are Joseph Kuruk and Faustina Adjorkor, both staff of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), and the Founder of SML, Evans Adusei.
Sources have told the Daily Graphic that all the arrests are in connection with the same investigation.
Investigations
The arrests form part of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption and corruption-related offences relating to multi-million cedi contracts awarded to SML for revenue assurance services in the downstream petroleum, gold export and port sectors.
The OSP, sources confirmed, is examining the procurement processes, the scope of services rendered, and the justification for the payments made under the contracts.
It is also seeking to verify SML’s claims that its operations have led to significant revenue savings for the country.
The arrests come months after public scrutiny of SML’s contracts with the GRA intensified, with critics raising concerns over value for money and the propriety of the procurement process.
Civil society organisations and anti-corruption campaigners had called for full transparency and accountability in the matter.
The statement by the OSP indicated that the investigations into the SML issues were remarkable in the nation’s anti-corruption efforts “and suggests a renewed resolve by the OSP to confront high-level corruption in public financial management”.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) also picked up the former CEO of the Buffer Stock Company, Abdul Hannan, and one other person in a separate corruption-related case.
Sources said the separate arrests were effected in Accra and Tamale in a coordinated move by the anti-graft institution.
