Former Chef de Cabinet (Technical Advisor) at the Finance Ministry, Ernest D. Akore, has been declared wanted over his alleged involvement in corruption-related offences concerning the Revenue Assurance Contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).

In a public notice served by the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) on Wednesday, July 16, the Office noted that the 67-year-old likely possesses dual citizenship (Ghana and America) and is probably in hiding in the US, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, or South Africa.

An arrest warrant for Mr. Akore has been issued by the High Court’s Criminal Division under the case title Republic v. Ernest D. Akore.

To aid his arrest, the OSP has urged anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mr Akore to alert the Office by calling or sending a WhatsApp message to 0554494499/0554484488.

Contractual breaches in a deal involving the Ghana Revenue Authority and Strategic Mobilisation Limited surfaced last year. An in-depth audit was carried out by international firm KPMG, commissioned by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The original purpose of the GRA-SML contract was to boost revenue assurance in vital sectors of Ghana’s economy, including the downstream petroleum sector, upstream petroleum production, and the minerals and metals value chain.

The KPMG audit uncovered significant procedural errors and regulatory violations in awarding the contract. Specifically, the GRA did not obtain the required approvals from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and failed to seek parliamentary oversight before finalizing the agreement with SML.

GRA entered into six service agreements with SML, utilising the single-source method without obtaining approval from PPA. Ghana’s procurement laws, which are stated under the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), which was later amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 914) spell out the legal framework for how public institutions acquire goods, works, and services using public funds.

In January 2024, three journalists from The Fourth Estate submitted a petition to the OSP, requesting a probe into SML.

Investigations by the OSP commenced last year, and in June 2025, the OSP conducted searches on SML’s offices in Osu and Tema, retrieving electronic evidence and arresting several key figures.

The Office apprehended Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), Evans Adusei, Philip Mensah, former deputy commissioner of Legal GRA and now legal consultant to SML; Joseph Kuruk and Faustina Adjorkor, both staff of the Public Procurement Authority; and Kofi Nti, former Commissioner General of GRA.

Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General of the GRA; Isaac Crentsil, ex-Commissioner of Customs and now General Manager at Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML); and Christian Tetteh Sottie, former Technical Advisor and now MD/CEO of SML, were also apprehended.

Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been declared wanted by the OSP for causing financial loss to the state in several dealings, which include the contractual arrangement between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and the Ghana Revenue Authority.