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Renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has released new findings from his investigation into how the former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is facing corruption-related charges from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in the SML case, left the country.
According to Manasseh, his inquiry uncovered that Ofori-Atta departed Ghana on January 4, 2025, just 72 hours before the swearing-in of President-elect John Dramani Mahama, who was elected on December 7, 2024.
Manasseh noted that the former Finance Minister left Ghana with three valid visas—one for the United States (US), one for Canada, and another for the United Kingdom (UK).
He explained further:
“My investigation reveals that Ken Ofori-Atta, born on November 7, 1959, left Ghana on January 4, 2025. He departed from Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport and travelled on United Airlines Flight 997 to Washington, D.C., in the United States.
He used a Ghanaian passport and had valid visas for the UK, Canada, and the US,” Manasseh wrote in a statement shared with GhanaWeb.
Manasseh added that Ofori-Atta’s US visa expires on February 14, 2026, his UK visa on April 21, 2032, and his Canadian visa on May 31, 2031.
The investigative journalist also revealed that Ernest Darko Akore, a former technical advisor at the Ministry of Finance and another individual charged in the SML case, also left the country in November 2024.
He wrote:
“Ernest Darko Akore, born on February 5, 1958, left Ghana on November 19, 2024. He travelled to New York on Delta Airlines Flight 156, departing through Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport.
Akore travelled on a ten-year US passport, which expires on August 4, 2031.”
On November 18, 2025, the OSP formally charged Ken Ofori-Atta and seven others with 78 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences.
The charges include allegations of conspiracy to influence the procurement process, both directly and indirectly, to gain an unfair advantage in the awarding of a contract. These allegations relate to the revenue assurance contractbetween the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
According to the OSP, the charges filed on November 18, 2025, constitute breaches of Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and Section 92(2)(b) of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).
Portions of the suit filed at the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra, under case number CR/0106/2026, state:
“Conspiracy to commit the criminal offence of directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract, contrary to Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and Section 92(2)(b) of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).”
The seven others charged include:
- Ernest Darko Akore, former Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of Finance
- Emmanuel Kofi Nti, former Commissioner-General, GRA
- Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner-General, GRA
- Isaac Crentsil, former Commissioner, Customs Division of GRA; and General Manager, SML
- Kwadwo Damoah, former Commissioner, Customs Division of GRA; current MP for Jaman South
- Evans Adusei
- Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML)
