SML Scandal: GRA boss is back in town – Bright Simons hints

The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, is reportedly back in Ghana following allegations that he has absconded the country over the $100 million Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) corruption scandal.

According to Bright Simons, a vice president of IMANI Africa, Rev. Dr. Adu Owusu-Amoah arrived in Ghana on the evening of Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

In a post shared on X, on Thursday, January 11, 2024, Bright Simon indicated that it is likely that the GRA boss was ordered to return following reports of him leaving the country or his reason for travelling was misreported.

“Word on the street is the GRA Boss returned to Ghana yesterday evening.

“Was he ordered to? Did he return because of reports like the attached? Were his intentions misrepresented by the Press? A bit of each of the above?” he quizzed.

Background:

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, alleged that the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, and his entire nuclear family have absconded Ghana over the $100 million Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) corruption scandal.

According to him, the commissioner-general, who signed the $100 million SML contract, left the country hours before President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo called for an investigation into the matter.

The MP, who made these claims in a post shared on X on Wednesday, January 11, 2024, accused President Akufo-Addo of having no intention to get to the bottom of the SML matter because there is no way the GRA boss could have travelled out of the country without his blessings.

He added that “the Owusu-Amoahs’ first travel destination when they left Accra a week ago was São Tomé and Príncipe, and continuous tracking appears to paint a picture of a family in no hurry to return to Ghana, that is, if they will ever return.”

Ablakwa also alleged that the commissioner-general has told his close relations that he has no intention of returning to Ghana anytime soon.

He pointed out that the absence of the GRA boss means that the investigation Akufo-Addo called for, which is being conducted by KPMG, would go nowhere.

About the SML scandal:

An investigation piece by an Accra-based media house, The Fouth Estate, titled, 'The GH¢ 3 Billion Lie', accused the Ministry of Finance of awarding a $100 million contract to SML to monitor Upstream Petroleum Production and to Audit the value chain of Minerals and Metals Resources.

Both the GRA and SML came out to justify the agreements that bind the two entities.

SML has stated that its upstream operations have not commenced, and therefore, no revenue has been generated. The company pointed out that the $100 million per year payment allegation is entirely fictional.

President Akufo-Addo appointed KPMG to conduct an immediate audit into the transaction between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML).

A contract which was entered into to enhance revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, the upstream petroleum production and minerals and metals resources value chain.

In a statement issued by the Director of Communication at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin indicated that the President also tasked KPMG to complete the assignment in two weeks and submit appropriate recommendations to him.

The president also directed the Ministry of Finance and GRA to provide KPMG with whatever assistance they will require for conduct of the audit.

He further directed the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority to suspend the performance of the contract, pending the submission of the audit report, including any payments presently envisaged under its terms.

BAI/OGB

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