The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has recovered $15.19 million from an international online investment scam that targets Ghanaian and British citizens.
The recovery, described as groundbreaking in the fight against cybercrime and money laundering, involved tracing and seizing cryptocurrency assets held in offshore wallets.
The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, who announced this at a press briefing in Accra yesterday, also revealed that his office had formally requested the extradition of a former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and his former Chef de Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, from the United States to face corruption-related charges in Ghana.
The $15m Scam
Detailing the sophisticated online investment scam, the Attorney-General said a criminal network, predominantly of Chinese and Malaysian nationals, established a Ghanaian company in 2019 as a front.
The company, registered for "general trading and online trading and marketing", operated an e-commerce website.
Victims were lured into paying registration fees and purchasing investment packages ranging from GH¢770 to GH¢9,240, with promises of fantastic earnings from operating trading accounts and online shops.
The scheme, a classic Ponzi structure, encouraged victims to recruit others.
Payments were accepted via mobile money, cash and cryptocurrencies.
A crucial break in the case came from a "how-to" video produced by the criminals themselves, which helped EOCO analysts to trace the crypto wallets used to launder the proceeds.
Using advanced blockchain analysis software, Chainalysis Reactor, EOCO identified wallets held on the OKX cryptocurrency exchange, based in Seychelles.
OKX’s own systems had flagged the cluster of transactions as potentially fraudulent, indicating that they originated from a single Internet Protocol (IP) address.
The Know Your Customer (KYC) information from OKX revealed the wallet was owned by a Chinese national resident in Ghana, who was also named by victims.
EOCO subsequently obtained a court order to freeze the wallets.
Faced with uncooperative authorities in Asia, EOCO collaborated with UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and engaged UK-based firms, Comply Crypto Depository and Zodiac Custody, to secure, realise and repatriate the frozen virtual assets.
On May 27, 2025, an Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Gwendolyn Millicent Owusu, granted an order for the assets to be converted into fiat currency and transferred to EOCO.
The final sum of over $15 million was received into EOCO’s Exhibit Account on November 19, 2025.
Dr Ayine hailed the recovery as a "clear warning that EOCO has developed the capability to investigate and recover virtual assets", and that "no foreign jurisdiction is too far from the long arm of Ghanaian law enforcement".
He stated that the second phase of the case would involve screening victims for restitution.
Ofori-Atta Extradition
On the matter of the former Finance Minister, the Attorney-General confirmed that a formal extradition request for Mr Ofori-Atta and Mr Akore was transmitted to the US Department of Justice via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 10, 2025.
This followed a request from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on November 19, 2025.
The A-G’s office had sought clarifications and supplementary documentation from the OSP, which were provided on December 9, finalising the request package.
"The request has been transmitted. At this point, it is left to the American authorities, especially the judicial authorities, to make a decision," Dr Ayine said.
Record-Breaking year
The A-G further disclosed that EOCO had a record-breaking year in asset recovery, exceeding its 2025 target of GH¢200 million.
Total recoveries currently stand at approximately GH¢337.48 million.
This comprises GH¢194.81 million in direct recoveries into its Exhibit Account and GH¢142.67 million in indirect recoveries paid directly to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Consolidated Fund.
Dr Ayine praised the EOCO leadership, particularly its Executive Director, Raymond Archer, and staff for their dedication.
He also extended gratitude to international partners, including the UK’s NCA, and the Judiciary for their pioneering role in the complex cryptocurrency case.
"The success story of the EOCO shows that institutions matter, but institutional leadership is crucial," he said.
