OSP Arrests Former GRA and Customs Bosses Over Corruption in SML Contracts
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has arrested three former top officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in connection with ongoing investigations into suspected corruption and related offenses tied to revenue assurance contracts awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Those arrested include Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General of the GRA; Isaac Crentsil, ex-Commissioner of Customs and current General Manager at SML; and Christian Tetteh Sottie, a former Technical Advisor who now serves as Managing Director and CEO of SML.
The three individuals were detained on Monday night, June 24, after failing to meet bail conditions, the OSP confirmed.
Their arrest forms part of a wider probe into the controversial agreements between the GRA and SML, which were the subject of a presidential directive for independent review by auditing firm KPMG. The OSP’s investigations seek to determine whether the contracts involved breaches of procurement procedures and the actual financial value of SML’s services to the state.
SML Alleges Sabotage
In a dramatic twist earlier this month, SML accused operatives from the OSP and National Security of forcibly disabling its real-time monitoring infrastructure, which it described as critical to national revenue mobilisation efforts.
According to SML, the raid — which reportedly resulted in the destruction of monitors, servers, computers, and other high-tech surveillance systems — could lead to daily revenue losses amounting to millions of cedis.
Images purportedly from the scene show a dismantled operations centre, with scattered hardware and equipment, sparking concerns over the operational integrity of customs monitoring processes.
Background and KPMG Report
The contracts between the GRA and SML came under public scrutiny late last year, prompting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to commission KPMG on December 29, 2023, to conduct a comprehensive audit into the matter.
Following public pressure and a formal Right to Information (RTI) request from the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the full KPMG report was finally released on May 22, 2024.
Initially, the presidency declined the MFWA’s request, citing exemptions under Section 5 of the RTI Act, 2019 (Act 989), which shields cabinet deliberations and advice to the President. However, in a move described as being in the interest of “full transparency in governance,” the President waived executive privilege and directed the public disclosure of the report.
The KPMG report detailed significant irregularities in the procurement process and questioned the value for money of SML’s revenue assurance operations, findings that have since intensified calls for accountability.
The latest arrests mark a significant escalation in the government’s anti-corruption efforts and could set the stage for a high-profile trial with far-reaching implications for public financial management and contract governance in Ghana.
