By Ashiadey Dotse
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has revealed that more than GH¢1.4 billion was paid to Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) by the state without proper monitoring or evaluation to ensure value for money.
Speaking during his media briefing in Accra on Thursday October 30, 2025, Mr. Agyebeng said investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) established that the payments were made “on automatic mode,” detached from actual performance, and without effective supervision by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) or the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Special Prosecutor, SML was initially contracted by the GRA without the required approval of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and without parliamentary approval for the award of multi-year contracts. He said the absence of these mandatory approvals made the agreements irregular and unlawful.
Mr. Agyebeng explained that SML only partially delivered on some of its assigned services, including transaction audit and price verification, and as a result, the GRA may not have obtained all the expected benefits from those services.
He noted that although SML reported an incremental revenue of GH¢2.45 billion from petroleum measurement audits, the company had not fully commenced its operations in the upstream petroleum and mineral sectors before its activities were suspended by the President’s directive.
The Special Prosecutor added that the OSP’s full investigation, conducted after reviewing the KPMG audit report, revealed that there was no genuine need for contracting SML for the roles it claimed to perform. The report found that the contracts were secured through official patronage and self-serving interests, rather than merit.
Mr. Agyebeng said his office collaborated with several public institutions, including the National Intelligence Bureau, Financial Intelligence Centre, and Public Procurement Authority, during the investigation. He emphasized that the findings point to a systemic breakdown in accountability, leading to colossal financial loss to the Republic.
He also indicated that SML case represents a classic example of how public office was used for private gain, in clear violation of the laws of Ghana, and assured that all implicated persons will face the full rigours of the law.
