Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says an audit of government arrears and import transactions has uncovered fraudulent claims amounting to GH¢10.4 billion and unverified foreign transfers valued at over US$31 billion.
Presenting the 2026 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, 2025, Dr Forson said the discoveries pointed to deep irregularities within the public payment and import declaration systems.
He said the audit, commissioned to verify arrears totalling GH¢68.8 billion, was carried out by the Auditor-General with technical support from PwC and EY.
The total included unpaid invoices and interim payment certificates submitted by contractors and suppliers.
Out of the verified amount, GH¢47.8 billion was confirmed as valid, while GH¢8.6 billion remains under review due to incomplete documentation.
The remaining GH¢10.4 billion was rejected because of duplicated invoices, recycled certificates, inflated costs, and claims for work not done.
Dr Forson said about GH¢1 billion of the rejected claims had already been processed for payment and were awaiting release at the Bank of Ghana before the audit intervened. “Without this audit, these claims would have been paid,” he told Parliament. “It shows the need for constant vigilance and proper verification.”
He said the exercise had helped prevent large potential losses and improved expenditure control across government institutions.
Dr Forson also reported what he described as widespread abuse of the import declaration system between April 2020 and August 2025.
During that period, more than 525,000 transactions worth about US$83 billion were processed through import declaration forms, but only 10,440 of those were linked to actual imports.
“About US$31 billion left the country under the guise of imports without any goods entering Ghana,” he said, warning that such practices depleted foreign reserves and weakened the Ghana cedi.
He added that some importers under-declared the value of goods to conceal about GH¢76 billion in imports, costing the state nearly GH¢11 billion in lost revenue.
Others inflated transfers, aided by banks that ignored the US$200,000 transfer ceiling set by the Bank of Ghana. Over 17,700 transactions exceeded that limit, amounting to roughly US$20 billion in unverified outflows.
Dr Forson said the individuals and institutions involved in these activities had been referred to the Attorney-General’s Department, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Financial Intelligence Centre, and the Criminal Investigations Department for investigation.
He said the Ghana Revenue Authority would also establish a special recovery unit to retrieve lost revenue from the affected period.
To curb future abuses, Dr Forson said an inter-agency committee had been formed to audit all import-related transfers. The Bank of Ghana, he added, would now match every foreign exchange transfer with verified import data.
“Every dollar leaving Ghana must deliver real value for the people of Ghana,” he said, adding that the government would maintain fiscal discipline and accountability in managing public finances.
