The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) has petitioned the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate suspected illegal fuel sales and possible subsidy fraud involving an oil marketing company, alleging the state may have lost about GH¢2.5 million.

In a petition dated April 16, 2026, CEMSE accused Life Energy, an Oil Marketing Company (OMC), of reporting highly questionable fuel sales volumes through four retail outlets in semi-urban and rural communities.

Executive Director of CEMSE, Benjamin Nsiah, said the figures presented raise serious concerns about possible data manipulation, smuggling, and economic sabotage within Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.

“These locations are not major industrial or high-traffic transit hubs,” he stated.

“Even assuming 24-hour operations, selling about 44,650 litres per day at a single retail outlet in such semi-urban or rural areas is commercially impossible without evidence of massive bulk commercial off-take or systematic fraud.”

According to the petition, Life Energy allegedly loaded more than 5.5 million litres of petroleum products from Rock Africa Limited in August 2025 and attributed average sales of 1,384,250 litres each to four outlets in Sefwi Osei Kojokrom, Sefwi Debiso, Sefwi Yawmatwa, and Dormaa Ahenkro.

CEMSE argued that the identical average sales volumes across the four separate outlets suggest possible artificial data allocation rather than actual retail sales.

The group also questioned whether the reported volumes reflect genuine local demand, noting that the communities involved are not known industrial centres or major transport corridors.

It further alleged that if the figures were used to claim reimbursements under the Uniform Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF), the state could have suffered financial losses estimated at GH¢2.5 million.

The petition also called for Rock Africa Limited to be directed to produce loading manifests, delivery waybills, and GPS discharge records to verify the movement of the fuel products.

CEMSE is asking EOCO to summon the company to produce daily sales receipts and electronic tank gauge data, inspect the outlets to confirm storage capacity, and freeze relevant accounts if initial evidence of fraud is established.

“The integrity of Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector is critical to national revenue and energy security,” Mr Nsiah said.

“Allowing such blatantly implausible sales figures to pass without investigation would set a dangerous precedent and embolden economic criminals.”

Copies of the petition were also sent to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC).

The development comes amid growing scrutiny of Ghana’s petroleum downstream sector, as regulators and security agencies intensify efforts to curb fuel diversion, subsidy abuse, and illegal supply chains linked to galamsey activities.