Hippo denies evading taxes

HIPPO Group of Companies has denied allegations that it has evaded taxes to the tune of $48.4 million. The company said it had dutifully discharged its obligations to the statutory revenue agencies.

A Presidential Taskforce, headed by the Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani, last week released a report after investigations and accused Hippo Limited and other companies, including some government agencies, of evading import duties to the tune of GH¢735 million at bonded warehouses between 2005 and 2012.

According to the report, the said companies were able to evade the import duties by conniving with officials of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The Chief Executive of Hippo Group of Companies, Dr. Kofi Sarpong, in a statement, refuted the allegation against Hippo and called for an explanation as to how the taskforce conducted its investigations.

He said the company did not receive any formal notification of an audit of its bonded warehouse operations from any “taskforce.” In view of that, he said Hippo limited had written a letter to the Chief of Staff seeking formal clarification about the processes.

Dr. Sarpong said the company was ready to co-operate and participate in any fair process that would not only set the records straight about its financial operations in its bonded warehouse but debunked the very serious allegations.

“Inasmuch as Hippo does not condone criminality of any sort in corporate operations, it is also conscious of the fragility of the indigenous entrepreneurial front, which toils through a maze of sometimes conflicting regulations and cross-cutting statutory enforcement requirements and even more painful, public misapprehension of the sources of corporate success,” he said.

Touching on one of the damaging misconceptions, Dr. Sarpong said it was rumoured that Hippo’s 200 strong trucks were acquired for it by President John Mahama. On the contrary, he said the trucks were financed with export guarantees from Germany and Sweden backed by local banks, adding that these guarantees were advanced on the strength of Hippo’s good corporate track-record.

Hippo Limited operates in the transport, property development, commodities, plant hire and tourism sectors. Continuing, Dr. Sarpong stated that during the tenure of the NPP administration, there were rumours that former President Kufour owned the company. The damage the rumours inflicted on hard working indigenous businessmen may be incalculable, he said.

“It reduces their confidence and restricts opportunities that could get the employment giants out of business,” he said. “Is it the case that Ghanaian businessmen cannot strive for themselves or shouldn’t Ghana be moving towards an economic modules of proactive support to indigenous wealth creation.”

He said Hippo, incorporated 30 years ago with Ghanaian management, has grown to become a large group, directly supporting a Ghanaian workforce of over 500. Dr. Sarpong added that the company indirectly supports many operations in the financial, cross border and retail trading sectors of the economy, noting that naturally these activities generate a broad range of tax incomes to the government.

Dr. Sarpong said the correspondence to the Office of the Chief of Staff would not only clear Hippo of any fraudulent activity but confirm that the due and legal obligations of the company to the statutory revenue agencies had been adequately discharged.