The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Sarpong, says a five-year review of trade data has uncovered about $31 billion transferred out of Ghana without corresponding goods entering the country, exposing major loopholes in the import system.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on April 10, Mr Sarpong described the findings as “very revealing”, noting that they point to systemic weaknesses in how imports have been declared and monitored at the ports.

“When we took office, we did a study of the past data about five years back, and the results were very revealing… we were able to show… close to about 31 billion USD has been transferred out of the country without goods coming in,” he stated.

The GRA boss explained that the issue extends beyond trade discrepancies, warning that it has serious implications for Ghana’s foreign exchange management. According to him, the review also uncovered widespread cases of misclassification of goods, incorrect valuation, and manipulation of country-of-origin declarations.

He further disclosed evidence of collusion involving some shipping line staff, customs officers, and importers, describing it as a coordinated scheme that enabled the leakages.

“We then also found out that there was some collusion among shipping line staff, customs officers, and some importers. And this is how the scheme was being run,” he revealed.

Mr Sarpong said the findings prompted urgent reforms, noting that reliance on manual processes and excessive human discretion created opportunities for abuse.

“So, we said we need to tackle this… using the same human beings and the extensive discretion… was not going to help us at all,” he added.

To address the challenge, he said the GRA has adopted automation and artificial intelligence to tighten controls across key risk areas, including classification, valuation, and country-of-origin verification. This led to the introduction of the Publican system, a digital platform designed to detect anomalies before goods are cleared.

The Publican system, launched on March 12, 2026, functions as a real-time monitoring tool that cross-checks import declarations against global price benchmarks and historical trade data. Unlike the previous system, which relied heavily on manual checks, the AI-powered platform flags suspicious transactions instantly.

Revenue leakages at Ghana’s ports have long been a concern for policymakers, often arising from practices such as under-declaration, misclassification of goods, and transit diversion, where goods meant for neighbouring countries are illegally sold within Ghana.

The issue gained renewed attention following a GH¢1.6 billion shortfall in customs revenue recorded in 2025, alongside sanctions against officials implicated in allowing diverted transit cargo to bypass regulations.

Mr Sarpong expressed optimism that the shift to automation would significantly reduce these losses and restore confidence in the system.

“And the use of AI or automation… will give us the opportunity to see ahead of time,” he said.