A photo collage of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng and SML Managing Director Christian Sottie
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) raided the offices of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) in Accra, reportedly arresting three top directors of the company.
The operation was in relation to the revenue assurance contract the company signed with the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which was later suspended in 2024 following public criticisms of the contract and after an audit report.
The OSP has indicated that the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, whom it has declared wanted, is a suspect in a number of its corruption-related cases under investigation, including the GRA–SML revenue assurance contract.
Leaked letters sighted by GhanaWeb indicated that the raid on the SML offices in Accra came after the company told the OSP that it could not provide certain information about the company as requested.
A letter dated March 20, 2025, from the lawyers of SML to the Director of Investigations at the OSP, titled “Re: Request for Information and Production of Document,” indicated that the company needed more time.
In another letter, dated March 27, 2025, the lawyers broke down the requests from the OSP into categories: what their client had provided, what it could not produce, and what it did not have in its possession.
The lawyers, Sam Okudzeto and Associates, listed the following as the requests of the OSP that had been met:
– Employee master list, together with CVs of key management members and technical staff
– All proposals (technical and financial) submitted by SML to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ministry of Finance (MoF)
– All correspondence between SML and GRA and MoF
– Contract agreements and related documents regarding contracts signed with GRA
– Contract agreements and related documents with GRA and MoF
– List of all equipment and software purchased by SML for the GRA/MoF projects, outlining the suppliers, cost price, date of acquisition, date of installation and location of installation
– All performance reports submitted by SML to GRA/MoF – 1st batch (second batch to be delivered next week)
– Annual financial statements and management accounts of SML for the period from 2017 to 2024
– General ledger of SML for each of the 2017 to 2024 accounting years.
Also, the OSP’s requests that SML said it did not have in its possession are:
– Responses received from the GRA and MoF in respect of proposals submitted by SML
– Minutes of all meetings held with GRA and/or MoF
– All invoices submitted by SML to GRA/MoF for payments
– Receipts issued to GRA/MoF for payments received
– Cheque register
– Receivable and payable reports for the stated period
– Fixed asset register
– Evidence of capital introduced by shareholders of SML
– Chart of accounts of SML
– Accounting procedures manual of SML, if any
– Any other relevant information.
For the following requests, the company said it would not provide the documents.
It stated:
“Pursuant to section 29(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), our client further instructs us that it is unable to provide the remaining documents listed in your letter of 3rd March 2025, and numbered 6, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22 and 24 for the following reasons:
“1. Our client has an obligation not to disclose such documents to third parties because of its contractual obligations on non-disclosure and confidentiality.
“2. Secondly, our client asserts its statutory right not to self-incriminate. Contrary to what the law requires, your letter did not provide the exact nature, type and scope of the corruption or corruption-related offences that your office is investigating. In other words, your letter fails to state which of the offences listed in section 79 of Act 959 your office is investigating against our client. In the circumstances, our client is asserting its privilege against self-incrimination provided under section 97 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323).”
BAI/AE
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