US$9.6m to transaction advisor, US$1.5m staff salaries: How US$12m was spent on Agyapa deal

The breakdown of who got paid what in a US$12m expenditure the government made on the botched Agyapa deal has been published online.

IMANI Africa Vice President, Bright Simons published on X (formerly Twitter) a breakdown of how 10 entities, local and international, were paid varying sums that came up to the amount.

The biggest payment was to a company known as Imara, the transaction advisors on the deal who bagged over US$9.6 million.

Some legal and audit firms were also paid varying sums plus over US$1.5m paid as staff salaries. The Ghana Stock Exchange was also paid an amount according to the list sighted by GhanaWeb.

It is worth noting that there is a US$2m outstanding payment that MIIF has yet to settle according to the documents.

The highly controversial Agyapa deal gained traction in recent weeks after the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee of the expenditure on the deal.

Meanwhile, parliament recently wrote to MIIF CEO demanding details and supporting evidence regarding the expenditure of US$12 million.

The deal to generate funds for crucial infrastructure projects through mineral royalties was halted by President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2021 following concerns raised by civil society groups and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

However, Mr. Koranteng clarified that the amount was spent on the Agyapa Special Purpose Vehicle, payment of consultancy fees, rental of office accommodation, and processes leading to the initial public offering towards the entity's listing on the London Stock Exchange.

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If you are staring at the Agyapa "money spent so far" accounts & wondering who these "staff" (Directors etc) are that have been paid $1.5m of Ghana money, well, why do you think some of us kept complaining about it being set up in the secretive tax haven of Jersey? pic.twitter.com/Ex97TmAvTz

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) February 23, 2024