Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has disclosed that former Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu was arrested and questioned by investigators over his role in the controversial Sputnik V vaccine procurement.

Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews on Tuesday, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said the former minister had been taken in for questioning and could soon face criminal charges as investigations progress.

“He (the former health minister) was arrested, he was interrogated, questioned and cautioned. There are two dockets in respect of him: a Sputnik V vaccine case and a COVID-19 frontier case. In the next few weeks, the Attorney General will be taking him to court to charge him,” he said.

“He was arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau. That was a couple of months ago, last year. So the claim that he has not been charged is false,” he added.

Background to the Sputnik V deal

The development relates to a 2021 agreement for the procurement of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines during the height of the pandemic.

At the time, the Ministry of Health, led by Mr Agyemang-Manu, reached an agreement with a United Arab Emirates intermediary, Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, and a Ghanaian company, S.L. Global, to supply millions of doses of the vaccine.

The contract sparked widespread controversy after it emerged that Ghana had agreed to purchase the vaccines through a middleman at about $19 per dose, nearly double the estimated $10 price offered by the manufacturer.

A parliamentary ad hoc committee later found that the agreements had been signed without the required parliamentary approval and without clearance from the Public Procurement Authority.

The committee also revealed that about $2.85 million (over GH¢16 million) had already been paid as part of the transaction for vaccines that were never delivered.

The deal was subsequently terminated by the government in July 2021 after the procurement process came under intense public and parliamentary scrutiny.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu said ongoing investigations will determine the next legal steps in the case, with possible charges expected to be filed against the former minister in connection with the transaction.