GACL Contract Probe: Paul Adom-Otchere, two Others Detained Over Failure to Meet Bail Conditions
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has formally charged the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Paul Adom-Otchere, alongside two other individuals, in connection with alleged procurement breaches related to a revenue assurance contract awarded by the GACL.
Mr Adom-Otchere, who was invited and subsequently charged by the OSP, remains in custody after failing to meet his bail conditions. Per the bail terms, he is required to provide two landed properties—registered in his name—as sureties. However, Mr Adom-Otchere has disclosed to the OSP that he does not own any landed property in Ghana, thereby delaying his release.
The two other individuals charged are Otchere Kwame Baffour Awuah, Group Executive for Commercial Services at GACL, and Albert Adjetey Adjei-Laryea, Chief Executive Officer of Devnest Systems.
The OSP is probing the award of a revenue assurance contract between the GACL and a private entity linked to the owner of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML). Preliminary findings suggest that the contract, which was sole-sourced, may have been awarded to a different company from the one approved by the GACL Board—raising red flags over potential violations of Ghana’s Public Procurement Act.
The Special Prosecutor’s investigations are centred on possible abuse of office, conflict of interest, and breaches of procurement procedures.
Sources close to the investigation indicate that the OSP is widening its probe to determine whether public officials circumvented due process in awarding the contract and whether the deal resulted in financial loss to the state.
Meanwhile, legal representatives of Mr Adom-Otchere are reportedly engaging with the OSP to explore alternative bail arrangements.
