The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced that the trial of former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta and seven others is expected to begin today, December 11, at Criminal Court 5.
The update was shared in a post on the official X page of the OSP accompanied by an image displaying the eight accused persons and the number of charges each faces.
In the post on X on December 11, they wrote simply, “The trial of Kenneth Ofori-Atta and 7 others expected to start today at Criminal Court 5.”
The image attached listed the individuals and entities involved along with their corresponding charge counts. In total, the OSP has filed 78 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences.
Former Minister of Finance Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta faces 28 charges, while his former Chief of Cabinet Ernest Darko Akore has 12 charges.
Former Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Emmanuel Kofi Nti is charged with 39 counts, and another former Commissioner-General, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, faces 10 counts.
Former Commissioner of the Customs Division Isaac Crentsil has 19 charges, with former Customs Commissioner and Member of Parliament Kwadwo Damoah facing 8 counts.
Evans Adusei, CEO and beneficial owner of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML), is charged with 19 counts, while the corporate entity SML itself faces 18 counts.
The case outlines a long-running scheme in which senior public officials allegedly colluded with SML to defraud the state of over GHS 1.4 billion through irregularly awarded contracts and payments for work that was never performed.
The prosecution argues that the accused persons operated a criminal enterprise from 2017 to 2024, characterised by the illegal single-sourcing of contracts without approval from the Public Procurement Authority or Parliament.
They also obtained contracts through alleged misrepresentations about SML’s technical capabilities and foreign partnerships, placed the company on an “automatic payment mode” to receive large sums without performance validation, and allowed public officials to allegedly abuse their offices for the private benefit of SML and its owner.
Beyond the completed payments, a separate upstream petroleum and minerals audit contract valued at US$2.79 billion was signed and set to commence but was halted before any payments were made.
Mr. Ofori-Atta, who has not been in Ghana in for most of 2025, continues to face intense public pressure, with many citizens and anti-corruption advocates calling for full accountability for his alleged role in financial misconduct during his tenure as Ghana’s Finance Minister.
