A private legal practitioner and anti-corruption campaigner, Martin Kpebu, has called for the immediate prosecution of former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for causing financial loss to the state in the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) deal.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews, the lawyer said officials of SML should be part of those to be prosecuted.

According to him, the damning nature of the KPMG audit report necessitates the prosecution of individuals who were involved in putting together the contract and executing it.

“I have seen parts of the [audit] report which states that SML didn’t deliver so we need to quantify how much we lost and hold Ofori-Atta and the other officials involved for this loss,” he told host Aisha Ibrahim.

The lawyer further stressed the need to terminate the revenue mobilisation deal between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Finance Ministry, and SML.

He stressed that since SML failed to carry out its mandate as stipulated in the contract, the deal could be canceled.  

“We need to terminate this agreement, because in law, when an agreement is void, public agencies shouldn’t pay money,” he said.

SML Controversy

In April this year, an investigation by The Fourth Estate, a project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), uncovered numerous irregularities in the contracts between Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The investigation revealed discrepancies in SML's claims regarding its services aimed at tackling revenue losses in the downstream petroleum sector.

President Akufo-Addo subsequently instructed KPMG to conduct a comprehensive audit. 

• Read also: SML owes GRA GH¢31.88m in taxes – KPMG Report

Despite SML's assertions that its services were effectively addressing under-declaration, dilution, and diversion of petroleum products, evidence presented by The Fourth Estate showed that these functions were being carried out by other companies and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). 

Managing Director of SML, Christian Tetteh Sottie admitted to the inaccuracies and promptly removed the false claims from the company's website.

Read also: SML changed name from SMEL after PPA refused single-source approval three times – Report

Despite these revelations and other admitted falsehoods, Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta initiated a process in 2023 to expand SML's contracts to include the gold and oil producing sectors. This decision significantly increased the annual contract sum to over $100 million.

Following the investigation by The Fourth Estate and subsequent public outcry, President Akufo-Addo suspended the contracts and commissioned KPMG to conduct an audit and submit a report. 

While the president released a press statement regarding the findings, the full report provides even more damning revelations about SML's operations within its contracts with the Ministry of Finance and the GRA.