Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has defended the performance of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), citing millions of cedis and dollars recovered, public funds saved, and dozens of corruption cases under investigation and prosecution.

Mr Agyebeng said the OSP’s performance should be assessed against measurable outcomes, including investigations, prosecutions, asset recoveries, prevention of financial losses and reforms to systems vulnerable to corruption.

Speaking at a press conference, he disclosed that as of December 31, 2025, the OSP was prosecuting 33 persons, while 79 cases were at the full investigation stage and another 161 cases were undergoing preliminary investigations.

The office had also secured seven convictions through court-sanctioned plea bargains, he said.

Mr Agyebeng said the OSP had also secured financial recoveries of GH¢8.5 million and US$2 million, in addition to movable and immovable assets linked to ongoing recovery proceedings.

He said the office's work went beyond investigations and prosecutions to include preventing corruption and protecting state resources.

According to him, interventions in sectors including natural resources, the seaports and the customs regime had helped prevent significant losses to the state.

He also credited the OSP with safeguarding the Tema Oil Refinery, which he said was now operational after years of inactivity.

Mr Agyebeng said the OSP's intervention in the customs sector had contributed to reforms in the auctioning of items and reduced what he described as abuse of the customs advance ruling regime.

He further disclosed that the office's intervention in the government payroll system had saved the state more than GH¢100 million.

“The OSP has saved the nation more than 20-fold the total amount of money released to it since its establishment,” he said.

He argued that the OSP had therefore generated returns well beyond the resources invested in it.

Mr Agyebeng said the institution's performance should not be judged by political approval or social media reactions.

“It should be gauged by investigations undertaken, persons prosecuted, assets recovered, losses prevented, systems corrected, public funds saved, and steps taken to prevent corruption,” he said.

He acknowledged that criticism of the OSP was legitimate but insisted that assessments of its work should be based on verifiable facts and statistics.

“So when next it is said that the OSP has not performed, the answer is straightforward. Check the statistics and benchmark them against your preferred alternative,” he said.