OSP Maps Case Against Ofori-Atta in SML Scandal
The Office of the Special Prosecutor outlines how it plans to convict former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta and others in the SML corruption case involving over GH¢1.4 billion.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has drawn a clear battle line in what is shaping up to be one of Ghana’s most consequential corruption trials in recent history. In its July to December 2025 Half Yearly Report, the OSP sets out a detailed evidential roadmap for securing convictions against former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta and seven others in the Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited, SML, case.
At the centre of the prosecution’s narrative is a single, devastating claim: that the accused persons operated a “criminal enterprise” that inflicted an “immense financial loss to the Republic” estimated at more than GH¢1.4 billion. The case, officially titled The Republic v. Kenneth Ofori-Atta & 7 Others, carries seventy-eight charges and draws in some of the most powerful figures in Ghana’s recent public finance architecture. Among the accused are former commissioners-general of the Ghana Revenue Authority, a former customs commissioner, and the chief executive officer of SML.
The OSP’s report reveals that the case will not be built merely on isolated acts of misconduct, but on a pattern of coordinated actions designed to manipulate public procurement, bypass legal safeguards, and drain state resources. Prosecutors intend to show that the accused conspired to influence procurement processes in ways that unfairly favoured SML, presenting the company as indispensable based on claims that were false, exaggerated, or never independently verified.
According to the OSP, the contracts awarded to SML were rooted in “self-serving patronage, sponsorship, and promotion” rather than genuine public need. The report states bluntly that there was “no genuine need” for SML’s services in the form in which they were procured. Yet, the company was positioned as a critical partner in revenue assurance in the petroleum and minerals sectors, areas that directly affect the country’s fiscal health.
A central pillar of the prosecution’s case is the alleged disregard for statutory controls. The OSP says mandatory approvals from Parliament and the Board of the Public Procurement Authority were ignored. Public officials, the report argues, acted with “emboldened impunity,” treating legal safeguards not as binding requirements but as obstacles to be sidestepped. In doing so, the prosecution will argue, they hollowed out the institutional checks meant to protect public funds.
Equally troubling is the manner in which public money is said to have flowed to the private company. The OSP alleges that there was no credible financial management system for monitoring and verifying performance under the contracts. Instead, payment channels were placed on what the report describes as “automatic mode,” detached from real-world performance and based on unverified claims. In practical terms, this meant that public funds could be released without proof that services were delivered, creating what prosecutors describe as “willful oppressive injury to the public.”
This system, the OSP contends, created an environment in which SML could largely pretend to perform the contracted services. The alleged result is the staggering loss figure of GH¢1.4 billion. For a country grappling with debt, inflation, and pressure on public services, that figure is not abstract. It represents hospitals that were never built, classrooms that remain overcrowded, and roads that still await repair.
The prosecution also plans to dismantle the narrative that justified SML’s privileged position. The accused are said to have based their actions on claims that the company possessed unique technical expertise in revenue assurance. They allegedly portrayed SML as having dramatically increased government revenue and as holding exclusive patented technology for audit services in the petroleum and minerals sectors. The OSP insists these claims were false and misleading, constructed to manufacture legitimacy for contracts that would otherwise have faced resistance.
Two of the central figures in the case, Kenneth Ofori-Atta and his former Chef de Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, are currently outside the jurisdiction in the United States. The OSP has initiated extradition processes through the Attorney General, underscoring the seriousness with which it intends to pursue the matter. Their absence has become part of the public drama surrounding the case, reinforcing perceptions of high stakes and high tension.
The case formally opened at the High Court in Accra on December 11, 2025. Several of the accused were granted bail in the sum of GH¢50 million each. The court has ordered that summons be served on Ofori-Atta and Akore to appear on February 26, 2026. A case management conference has been scheduled for January 29, 2026, setting the stage for what is likely to be a protracted and closely watched trial.
Beyond the courtroom, the SML case represents a broader test of Ghana’s anti-corruption resolve. It is not merely about whether individuals will be convicted. It is about whether the state can demonstrate that no office is too powerful to be scrutinised, and no figure too influential to be held accountable.
The OSP’s approach suggests a shift from chasing isolated acts of wrongdoing to exposing systemic corruption. By framing the conduct as a “criminal enterprise,” the prosecution signals that it will argue the case as a coordinated scheme rather than a series of administrative lapses. That framing matters. It speaks to a deeper understanding of how corruption operates in modern governance, not always through envelopes of cash, but through contracts, approvals, and institutional shortcuts.
For citizens, the unfolding case is a reminder that corruption often hides behind technical language and complex policy frameworks. It thrives when processes become opaque and oversight weakens. The SML affair, as presented by the OSP, shows how easily public interest can be subordinated when power and discretion are concentrated in a few hands.
Whether the prosecution succeeds remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that the Office of the Special Prosecutor has staked its credibility on this case. Its outcome will reverberate far beyond the fate of the accused, shaping public confidence in the rule of law and in Ghana’s ability to defend its own resources.
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