The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has once again officially initiated a process to request an INTERPOL Red Notice against former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, potentially subjecting him to international arrest and extradition over suspected acts of corruption currently under investigation.
The move, announced at a press conference in Accra on Monday, June 2, follows Mr Ofori-Atta’s failure to honour multiple invitations from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for questioning related to ongoing investigations.
One of the five cases cited by the OSP, involves the controversial procurement of 307 ambulances under the Ministry of Health.
The contract, awarded to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited (SGAGL) for the purchase and maintenance of 307 ambulances, has left many questioning whether the OSP is shielding some key participants in the transaction.
The procurement was led by former Minister for Special Development Initiatives, Mavis Hawa Koomson, former Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, and Mr Ofori-Atta, authorising some payments.
Notably, President Akufo-Addo’s daughters, Gyankroma and Edwina Akufo-Addo, were also identified as business partners in SGAGL, alongside Ousman Inusah, Kalilu Dauda, Mohammed Nurulhaq, Charles Oppong-Kyekyeku, and Samuel Bannerman.
Numerous irregularities were cited, including price inflation and inadequate due diligence on both the company and its directors.
One of SGAGL’s directors, Charles Oppong-Kyekyeku, had previously served a three-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom for fraud.
It remains unclear whether the OSP has summoned all implicated individuals, except Mr Ofori-Atta, as part of its investigation.
The Herald’s own inquiries into the ambulance procurement reveal that while Mrs Koomson initially quoted US$133,000 per ambulance, amounting to a total of US$40.8 million, she later claimed during her 2021 vetting before Parliament that the ambulances cost US$177,000 each, totalling US$54.3 million.
Further, former Finance Minister Ofori-Atta is said to have authorised an additional US$20 million for the purchase of spare parts.
A separate inquiry by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had alleged that Mr Ofori-Atta and Mr Agyemang-Manu sanctioned a further US$34.9 million for SGAGL to service the ambulances.
Mr Ablakwa has revealed that between 2020 and 2023, SGAGL received a staggering GH¢653 million from the government, more than double the original cost of the ambulances.
SGAGL was composed of seven entities: Luxury World Auto Group Limited, Elok Consult, RDC Company Limited, Beft Engineering Works Limited, Prestige Era Company Limited, Bluemix Company Limited, and Quality Supply and Builders Company Limited. All reportedly quoted different prices for ambulances of the same make and specifications.
Charles Oppong-Kyekyeku, CEO of Luxury World Auto Group Limited, was been at the centre of further controversy. Police investigations confirmed that he forged a proforma invoice originally issued by UAE-based Al Amani Spare Parts LLC, inflating the value from US$130,910 to US$189,982.
He was charged and processed for court, but initially failed to meet bail conditions, spending time in police custody.
Oppong-Kyekyeku also forged the company’s letterhead and used the inflated invoice for official procurement transactions, including one routed through Fidelity Bank. The Ministry of Trade and Industry subsequently issued an Import Declaration Form based on the falsified document.
He is not new to forgery allegations. In 2010, he was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court in the UK for generating fake invoices totalling £245,000 and sentenced to three years in prison. The presiding judge, Georges Khayat QC, described him as “a thoroughly dishonest person” and disqualified him from serving as a company director for eight years.
Despite this criminal history, Oppong-Kyekyeku was awarded contracts under the Akufo-Addo government, with little evidence of due diligence conducted on him or his company. A legal correspondence dated 13 January 2021 from the law firm Paintsil, Paintsil & Co confirmed his prior conviction and imprisonment in the UK.
Several individuals listed as directors of SGAGL, including Oussman Inusah, Kalilu Dauda, and Mohammed Nurulhaq, are believed to be untraceable, while Samuel Bannerman is reported deceased. Dr Christian Siaw-Mensah, once named as SGAGL’s Managing Director, has also reportedly gone missing.
Despite the magnitude of the alleged infractions, the full scope of the OSP’s investigation into the roles of these individuals remains opaque. Public concern is growing over whether politically connected figures are being shielded from accountability.
Mr Ablakwa, known for his detailed parliamentary investigations, has described the SGAGL transactions as a “scandalous send-off package” for Mr Ofori-Atta and Mr Agyemang-Manu, pointing to a pattern of extravagant spending disguised as legitimate procurement.
Notably, one of President Akufo-Addo’s daughters, is said to have had a love child with a director of SGAGL.
Mr. Ofori-Atta is expected to face questions on the Petroleum and Minerals Revenue Assurance
– Contractual arrangements between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
He is also to respond to the Electricity Company Contract Termination – Termination of a contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC).
For the National Cathedral Project, he is expected to respond to procurement procedures and financial transactions related to the National Cathedral.
On Ambulance Procurement, the Ministry of Health had a contract with Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for the purchase and maintenance of 307 ambulances. The deal he authorised has drawn the attention of the OSP.
There is also a Ghana Revenue Authority Tax P-Fund Management transaction, which Mr Ofori-Atta, must respond to regarding his handling and disbursement of funds from the GRA’s Tax P-Fund Account.
