Trial of Ex-Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Seven Others Begins
- The criminal trial of Ghana’s former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and seven others has commenced at the Accra High Court
- The accused are facing 78 corruption-related charges tied to revenue assurance contracts with the Ghana Revenue Authority
- The case focuses on alleged unlawful contract approvals and financial losses due to inadequate verification of work that was done
The criminal trial of Ghana's immediate past Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and seven other persons has reportedly commenced in Accra.
According to a report by GhanaWeb, the hearing of the high-profile case began on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at the Criminal Court.
Source: Facebook
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) also confirmed the start of the trial in a post on its social media pages.
"The trial of Kenneth Ofori-Atta and seven others is expected to start today at Criminal Court 5," the OSP wrote.
The former Finance Minister is being prosecuted by the OSP on several cases of alleged corruption.
In November 2025, the OSP filed 78 corruption-related charges against Ofori-Atta and five others in relation to the revenue assurance contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
The other accused persons facing charges are current and former Commissioner-Generals of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Ghana Revenue Authority officials Isaac Crentsil, Kwadwo Damoa, and Ernest Akore, a former Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance.
The charges include conspiracy to commit the criminal offence of directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
Read the Facebook post below:
More about OSP's case against SML
At a press conference in October 2025, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyabeng stated that contracts awarded to SML were unlawful and influenced by personal gain.
He said that evidence gathered by his office pointed to criminal conduct by some officials during the negotiation, approval, and implementation of the contracts.
The OSP, under Agyabeng, established that the contracts awarded to SML lacked genuine justification and were approved in clear violation of statutory procedures.
The probe further found that payments were made without adequate verification of work done, leading to significant financial losses to the state.
The Special Prosecutor noted that several key officials exploited their positions for self-serving interests, sidestepping due process in procurement and weakening accountability mechanisms within the authority and the Ministry of Finance.
Source: UGC
SML refutes OSP's corruption allegation
Meanwhile, Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited has disputed the OSP's allegations, saying it was given a five-year contract instead, and consequently challenged claims that it had taken $100 million annually from its contract.
In January 2024, then-President Nana Akufo-Addo commissioned KPMG to investigate the contract following an exposé by the Fourth Estate, which questioned the impact of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited in the downstream petroleum sector despite being awarded a 10-year $100 million contract.
Ghanaians sign petition to drag Ofori-Atta to Ghana
YEN.com.gh also reported that over 1,000 Ghanaians signed an online petition demanding Ken Ofori-Atta's extradition to face corruption charges.
The petition was initiated by US-based Ghanaian lawyer Kwaku Azar, who urged the US Embassy to facilitate the former Finance Minister's return.
Ofori-Atta allegedly fled from Ghana to the United States to avoid prosecution after the New Patriotic Party lost the elections on December 7, 2024.
Source: YEN.com.gh
