OSP Disagrees with KPMG on Accountability and Value for Money in GRA–SML Contracts
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has disclosed a major divergence in conclusions between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and audit firm KPMG over the controversial revenue assurance contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, October 30, 2025, Mr. Agyebeng said that while both institutions agreed on the operational shortcomings of the SML contracts, their assessments differed fundamentally on accountability, value for money, and the potential existence of corruption.
“The OSP is unable to agree with some conclusions of the KPMG in respect of accountability and value for money,” the Special Prosecutor stated emphatically.
According to Mr. Agyebeng, the OSP’s independent investigation, which began earlier this year, extended beyond the scope of KPMG’s management audit to focus on potential breaches of law, abuse of office, and corruption-related misconduct in the execution of the multi-million-cedi contracts.
He explained that while the KPMG report acknowledged SML’s failure to fully deliver on its contractual obligations, the OSP viewed this failure as indicative of “a deeper systemic collapse of accountability” within the public financial management system.
“Where KPMG saw gaps in performance and efficiency, we saw evidence of corruption, conflict of interest, and self-serving official patronage,” Mr. Agyebeng noted.
Factual Alignment but Divergent Conclusions
The Special Prosecutor admitted that there was “factual harmony” between the two reports on the basic operational details of the contract.
“KPMG’s report said SML partially delivered on the transaction audit services. Major factual functions in the KPMG report tallied with our preliminary findings,” he said.
However, he stressed that the findings of both reports raised more questions than answers, necessitating deeper investigation.
“Both reports turned out to have more critical questions than answers. It required further investigation,” Mr. Agyebeng remarked.
The OSP contends that the contracts between the GRA and SML were not based on a genuine operational need but were allegedly motivated by personal and political interests. The investigation, therefore, focuses on the criminal dimensions of the deal — including statutory breaches, conflicts of interest, and abuse of office by officials involved.
Mr. Agyebeng emphasised that the OSP’s approach differs from the audit firm’s by treating the absence of value for money not merely as an issue of inefficiency but as potential evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
The findings, according to him, pave the way for prosecutions aimed at reinforcing accountability and protecting public funds.
