By: Ashiadey Dotse
The Attorney-General, Dominic Ayine Akuritingah, has announced that investigations into an alleged fraud involving the founder and leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Mr. Percival Kofi Akpaloo, have been concluded, revealing that COCOBOD cheques worth GH¢3,169,432.22 were diverted and never paid to the rightful contractor.
Speaking during government accountability series at the Presidency on Monday December 22, 2025, the Attorney-General said the case began after the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) filed a Suspicious Transaction Report with FirstBank Ghana Limited over unusual transactions on an account linked to a company associated with Mr. Akpaloo. This triggered investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
According to Mr. Ayine, investigations showed that a legitimate company, POMAA Universal Ghana Limited, wholly owned by a woman identified as Akua POMAA, was awarded a GH¢29.5 million COCOBOD contract in December 2020. Initial payments for the project were properly made to the company, but subsequent payments raised serious concerns.
The Attorney-General disclosed that Mr. Akpaloo allegedly secretly incorporated another company with a nearly identical name, differing only by the addition of the letter “H”, and used it to divert funds meant for the original contractor.
He explained that between December 2022 and June 2024, Mr. Akpaloo collected eight cheques issued by COCOBOD in the name of the legitimate company, POMAA Universal Ghana Limited, and deposited them into the account of his own look-alike company at FirstBank Ghana Limited.
Investigations further revealed that Akua Pomaa was unaware of both the existence of the second company and the diversion of the funds until COCOBOD contacted her in June 2024 about outstanding balances on the contract. She later alleged that Mr. Akpaloo forged her signature on the COCOBOD contract using her former name, Mercy Owusu, without her consent.
Mr. Ayine said FirstBank Ghana Limited conducted its own internal investigations, which confirmed the fraud allegations, and admitted operational failures in detecting discrepancies between cheque payee names and the accounts into which the cheques were deposited.
The suspects named in the case include Percival Kofi Akpaloo, his company, the look-alike firm, and his wife. The Attorney-General said evidence points to offences including stealing, forgery, and money laundering, and charges will be filed by his office upon resumption of work.
