Ghana losing US$40 billion yearly to revenue fraud

Ghana loses about $40 billion to revenue fraud at the ports and harbours yearly, a revenue monitoring activist Kudzo Akpabi has told Morning Starr’s Kafui Dey on Starr 103.5FM.

“The issue is so alarming,” the Chartered Accountant said Monday adding that: “I would say–and we have documents to support this–we are losing $30 to $40 billion, not Cedis, every year to fake invoicing and misinvoicing.”

Mr Akpabi said despite numerous complaints and requests made to the President and people in Government to investigate the revenue leakages and block them, nothing has been done about it.

He said there are politicians behind the scenes who are masterminding the revenue leakages and are therefore frustrating the efforts of the Special Operations Unit (SOU) at the presidency which has been tasked to go after fraudsters who are taking advantage of the system to enrich themselves.

“I’m saying that the political industry will never allow them to work. There are politicians–both past and present–who are benefiting from these leakages, fraudulent practices and all and they will not allow this exercise to go on.”

Mr Akpabi alleged that politicians are influencing and frustrating the work of the SOU in doing its job.

“The SOU is having a challenge. It’s not working. Take it from me.”

According to him, the politicians are colluding with some officers in charge of the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) clearing platform–which was introduced 10 years ago to ensure the smooth electronic processing of customs documentation to ensure accuracy of information and also reduce the port clearing process–to manipulate the system to under-declare and under-invoice, and in some cases issue fake invoices thereby denying the State of huge amounts of revenue.