An Accra High Court (Commercial Division) will begin hearing a case on July 15, 2025, between Dram Oil and Trading Limited and international audit firm Deloitte and Touche.

Dram Oil is suing Deloitte for $187.596 million, alleging negligence during an audit assignment. The company is also seeking other related reliefs.

According to Dram Oil, the court appointed Deloitte in 2018 to conduct an audit in a case involving Dram Oil and Vihama Energy Limited, a Bulk Oil Distribution Company (BDC).

The issue dates back to an earlier oil transaction between the two companies, which was financed by Cal Bank Ghana Limited.

In a statement of claim filed by lawyer Gaspar Lyle Nii-Aponsah of Lex Premier Associates, Dram Oil stated that Cal Bank initially sued them over the transaction. However, the matter was resolved in 2015 when the court ruled in Dram Oil’s favour.

Following the ruling, Justice Novisi Aryene ordered an audit of Vihama Energy’s records, focusing on payments, receivables, and under-recoveries under a Tripartite Agreement with Cal Bank, Vihama Energy, and Dram Oil.

Dram Oil maintains that Vihama Energy had already received all payments owed and was not entitled to any more money — a point confirmed by the 2015 court judgment. As a result, Vihama Energy later withdrew its counterclaim.

To carry out the court-ordered audit, Dram Oil entered into an agreement with Deloitte and Touche. But the company now claims Deloitte’s final audit report wrongly concluded that Dram Oil owed a large sum to Vihama Energy — directly contradicting the court’s earlier judgment.

This audit report was later accepted by the court after Deloitte’s partner, Mr. Daniel Owusu, who supervised the assignment, was cross-examined by lawyers for Dram Oil and Cal Bank.

The case will now move to full trial on July 15, 2025.