Ernest Darko Akore, a former Finance Ministry Advisor, has been declared wanted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The OSP declared Ernest Darko Akore, a former Chef de Cabinet, wanted in connection with an ongoing enquiry into the Revenue Assurance Contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
According to the OSP wanted notice, Ernest Darko Akore is a 67-year-old with a possible dual nationality of Ghana-American.
The former Finance Ministry Advisor, according to the OSP notice, might be hiding in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, or South Africa.
The Authorities are calling on the public to assist in locating Ernest Darko Akore.
The OSP statement further revealed that an arrest warrant was issued for Ernest Darko Akore at the High Court’s Criminal Division.
OSP arrests in SML Scandal
In an earlier development, the office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) announced the arrest of former Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner-General Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah.
The OSP revealed that Isaac Crentsil, ex-Commissioner of Customs and now General Manager at SML and Christian Tetteh Sottie, former Technical Advisor and now MD/CEO of SML, were also detained.
According to the OSP, the arrest is linked to ongoing investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of contracts between the GRA and SML.
In a post on X, the Office of the Special Prosecutor stated, “The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has arrested Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General of the GRA; Isaac Crentsil, ex-Commissioner of Customs and now General Manager at SML; and Christian Tetteh Sottie, former Technical Advisor and now MD/CEO of SML.
The arrests are linked to ongoing investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of contracts between the GRA and SML for revenue assurance services. The probe also seeks to verify SML’s claims that its services have been saving the nation significant revenues.
Owusu-Amoah, Crentsil and Sottie were detained after failing to meet bail conditions.
Others arrested
- Evans Adusei – CEO of SML.
- Philip Mensah – Former Deputy Commissioner of Legal GRA and now Legal Consultant to SML
- Joseph Kuruk and Faustina Adjorkor are both staff of Public Procurement Authority.
- Kofi Nti, former Commissioner General of GRA
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had earlier detained three Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) company directors in a raid on Monday, June 10.
According to reports, Investigators are said to be particularly interested in accessing electronic data stored on the company’s servers.
The information gathered suggests the OSP investigation into the SML scandal has reached the advanced stages of its investigation.
Reports suggest the search was carried out simultaneously at the Osu and Tema offices of SML.
Also, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) accused the former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta Atta of causing financial loss to the state in several dealings, including the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA’s) – Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML).
Background
SML was formed a month after the NPP administration took office in 2017.
It has since been awarded a number of dubious contracts by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance, under Ken Ofori-Atta.
The “SML Scandal”, an exposé by The Fourth Estate, titled ‘The GH¢ 3 Billion Lie’, fingered the Ministry of Finance for awarding a $100 million contract to SML to monitor Upstream Petroleum Production and to audit the value chain of Minerals and Metals Resources.
SML has stated that its upstream operations have not commenced and pointed out that the $100 million per year payment allegation is entirely false.
See the post below:
— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) July 16, 2025
