The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and seven others will be arraigned before the court on Monday, 24 November 2025, to face 78 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences.

In a social media update, the OSP stated that "the prosecution will seek the necessary court orders to serve the charge sheets on fugitives who are currently outside the jurisdiction."

This follows the official charging of Mr. Ofori-Atta, Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), and six former high-ranking officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ministry of Finance.

The accused persons include Ernest Darko Akore, aged 67, former Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of Finance; Emmanuel Kofi Nti (66), former Commissioner-General of GRA; and Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah (64), also a former Commissioner-General of GRA.

The others are Isaac Crentsil (63) and Kwadwo Damoah (65), both former Commissioners of the Customs Division of GRA; Evans Adusei (62), CEO and beneficial owner of SML; and the company itself, Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd, formerly Strategic Mobilisation Enhancement Ltd.

The charges are linked to a sophisticated and long-running alleged scheme described by the prosecution as a “criminal enterprise” that operated between 2017 and 2024.

The alleged conspiracy involved collusion between senior public officials and SML to illegally award contracts and syphon over GHS 1.4 billion from the state through fraudulent procurement processes and payments for services that were never rendered.

According to the charge sheet, the alleged scheme revolved around several core elements:

Illegal Procurement: Contracts were awarded to SML through single-source procurement without mandatory approvals from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Board or, in cases of high-value contracts, Parliament.

False Pretences: The contracts were allegedly secured through deliberate misrepresentations about SML’s financial strength, technical capacity, and supposed proprietary technology linked to multinational firm COTECNA S.A.

Payment for No Service: The prosecution claims SML was placed on “automatic payment mode,” enabling massive payouts to the company without validation, evidence of performance, or delivery of actual services.

Abuse of Office: Senior public officials are accused of using their positions to advance the private interests of SML and its owner, Evans Adusei.

The charges also reference a halted contract involving upstream petroleum and mineral audit services, valued at an estimated US$2.79 billion, representing a potential future loss to the state had payments commenced.

The OSP has indicated that efforts are ongoing to extradite Mr. Ofori-Atta, who is outside the country, after several unsuccessful attempts to secure his physical presence for investigations.