SUSPENSION OF TOR - TORRENTCO DEAL

The timely investigative work of the OSP upended the leasing of a national asset, the Tema Oil Refinery (ToR), in a deal which bore the trappings of corruption. In a bid to revamp the struggling state refinery, the board of directors for ToR acceded to a 6-year lease agreement with Torrentco Assets Management Limited (TAML). The arrangement was purported as necessary to allow for the Optimisation of the refinery’s output and also to refurbish its ageing infrastructure. However, several groups including its own workers union and civil society organizations vehemently opposed the lease agreement. Questions were raised about the viability of TAML, which was found to lack both the experience and financial muscle, to enter into such an agreement.

It was also determined that TAML lacked the required licences and certifications to carry out the lease agreement. The lessee was later rebranded as Tema Energy Processing Limited and attempted to re-enter the lease agreement under the previous conditions. Following a petition, the OSP ordered the cessation of and negotiations or actions pertaining to the proposed agreement to enable it perform a thorough corruption risk assessment. This led to the TEPL withdrawing their interest in the lease agreement with TOR. In spite of the deal estimated to be worth US$ 22 million, Ghana stood to lose far more than that under the proposed terms.

PREVENTED PAYMENT OF GHC 5 MILLION IN INFLATED CONTRACT

The OSPs vigilance and prompt actions saved Ghana over GHC 5 million Ghana cedis following the termination of over-bloated contract by the Northern Development Authority (NDA). It was believed that the NDA issued contracts for consultancy services for the execution of a series of poverty alleviation projects under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) in the 11 constituencies in the Upper West Region. The OSP instructed the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to halt payments to the NDA after ascertaining that the contract had been bloated from GHC 5 million to GHC 10 million. Persons associated with the corrupt act were arraigned before court for prosecution.

LABIANCA COMPANY LIMITED AND CUSTOMS DIVISION OF GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY

In 2021, the Office commenced investigations pursuant to a complaint made against Labianca Group of Companies concerning the issuance of markups it received from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The investigations substantiated that indeed, GRA, had wrongly awarded Labianca advanced ruling of 5% to 10% lower than the benchmark value for frozen foods it imported. Incidentally, the proprietor of Labianca Ltd, Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinne’s dual role as a member of the Council of State and a board member of the Ghana Port and Harbours Authority may have influenced the award of the preferential advance rulings.

Subsequent to the conclusion of the OSP’s case, the Parliament of Ghana scrapped the provisions that permitted the Customs Advance Rulings and benchmarking. This development effectively ended the dispensation of the discretional issuance of benchmark values and advance rulings by Customs officials. The former discretional system created leeway for the surreptitious avoidance of payment of taxes and import duties with the aid of Customs officials.  The resultant ruling of Parliament was a direct consequence of the measures undertaken by the OSP to sanitise the system and effectively avert future corruption of the excise regime.

For the period May 2021 to August 2022, revenue from sale of auctioned goods at the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority stood at Ghc 28,827,912.91. As a result of conducting corruption risk assessment on that revenue stream, the OSP directed the GRA – CD to present Integrity Action Plan. In implementing the Integrity Action Plan, the OSP further directed the CD to ensure that Auction Sale Prices of vehicles and goods should include the duty and taxes payable on the commodities.

Upon conclusion of investigations, the Office estimated that GRA’s erroneous application of benchmark values to Labianca Ltd cost the state GHC1,074,627.15. Resultantly, the OSP issued a battery of administrative measures to sanitise the award of benchmark values and avoid the future occurrence of similar illegalities. Further, GRA was directed to produce an Integrity Plan aimed at ending the abuse of its discretionary powers granted to its officers in accordance with the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891). 

As a result of the intervention of the OSP in monitoring strict compliance of its directives to the GRA-CD, revenue from the sale of auction vehicles and goods from September 2022 to December 2023 shot up to Ghc. 125, 055,282.14, an increase in revenue by 333.8%.

The OSP handles prosecutions, while convictions are determined by the courts. On average, a criminal trial spans three years. The Office is currently prosecuting the following cases:

1. D13/01/22; The Republic v Alexander Kwabena Sarfo Kantanka Case:

2. NR/TL/HC/CCI/13/23; The Republic v Sumaila Abdul Rahman & Ors

3. CR/04492/2022; The Republic v Adjenim Boateng

4. NR/TL/HC/CC1/2/25; The Republic v Yakubu Tahidu & 5 others

Below are some of the notable cases investigated by the OSP.

YOUTH AGAINST CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN

Prevention of corruption remains one of the most important strategic focus of the Office in the unrelenting fight against corruption. The Youth who represent the future leaders of many countries are the target of this flagship programme by the OSP in pursuance of section 2 (c) of the OSP Act, 2017 (ACT 959) and Regulation 31 (1) (b) of the OSP Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374) which mandates the Office to take steps to prevent corruption. Thus, the Office has initiated the “Youth Against Corruption Initiative” to continuously engage and sensitise the youth in a proactive move to instil the values of honesty, integrity, accountability, and transparency in them. Till date, several schools from Junior High to Senior High through to the Universities continue to benefit from this initiative.

DISRUPTION OF COUNTERFEITING SYNDICATE

The OSP disrupted the activities of a counterfeiting syndicate in a sting operation. Seizures made in warehouses in Accra and Tema realised US$40, 000,000 counterfeit notes, one of the largest of such busts in the history of Ghana. While the OSP proceeds with investigations into the matter with the Ghana Police Service, the prevention of the counterfeited notes from entering circulation spares the country dire economic, social, and political consequences.

CHARLES ADU BOAHEN

The OSPs investigations into the involvement of the former Minister of State for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, in acts of corruption galvanized calls for the passage of relevant legislations to adequately fight corruption. Mr. Adu Boahen was captured in an investigative documentary soliciting a 20 percent stake in a purported US$ 500, 000,000 million investments from undercover journalists posing as investors. The release of the documentary occasioned the referral of the matter to the OSP by the President, H.E. Nana Addo Daquah Akufo-Addo for investigation. The investigations yielded a report by the OSP which cited Mr. Adu Boahen for Influence Peddling.

However, the OSP could not prefer prosecutorial actions against him since influence peddling fell outside the remits of the OSP’s mandate. The OSP report generated huge public discourse and debates by Ghanaians, civil society and the media on Influence Peddling and Sting Operations. However, the OSP report marked a watershed moment as it called for the passage of relevant laws on influence peddling, Conduct of Public Officers Act the Corrupt Practices Act. This will comprehensively define and prohibit all forms of corruption and appropriately govern the behaviour of public officials.

AGYAPA ROYALTIES DEAL

The OSP’s corruption risk assessment of the Agyapa Minerals Royalty identified numerous incidences and possibilities of corruption, leading to the subsequent suspension of the deal. In August 2020, the government of Ghana proposed to sell the majority of its future gold royalties to Agyapa Royalties Ltd, a public-private joint venture registered in the British protectorate of Jersey. The deal would have seen the sale of 49 percent of the company on the London Stock Exchange while the government would have retained 51 percent of the company. Agyapa Royalties would have had the mandate to create Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) to invest the country’s mineral incomes.

Following the referral of the matter to the OSP, a corruption risk and anti-corruption assessment was initiated into the conception of the deal and its attendant implications for the country. The OSP identified several breaches of corruption rules in the structuring of the deal and procurement processes for service providers. Also, the OSP highlighted that the deal created the necessary opportunities to facilitate illegal financial flows and money laundering. Consequently, the Ministry of Finance halted the listing of Agyapa Royalties on the London Stock Exchange, effectively preventing the long-term haemorrhaging of public funds courtesy of the Agyapa deal.