Former GRA Boss Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai, Two Others in Custody Over SML Deal

A former Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, and two other former officials of the GRA are in custody over their roles in the SML Scandal, according to information exclusively available to manassehazure.com

The three former GRA officials, two of whom now work for Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), spent last night in the cells of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), formerly BNI. They were placed in custody after they failed to meet bail conditions following their questioning and arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The SML scandal was revealed in an investigative documentary by three former reporters of The Fourth Estate, Evans Aziamor-Mensah, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu, and Manasseh Azure Awuni, after a year’s extensive investigation into the shady operations of SML.

When the journalists confronted the company with evidence, SML could not substantiate the claims it made about the services it provided and the amount of savings it claimed to have made as a result of its operations .

The company had been paid over $141 million by the government by the end of 2023 for its contracts, which have broken several laws, including the PPA Act.

SML, which is an offshoot of a timber company, was formed on Valentine’s Day in 2017, a month after the Akufo-Addo administration took office, and has since enjoyed several  deals from the GRA and the Ministry of Finance.

The SML scandal is one of the reasons the Special Prosecutor has declared Ken Ofori-Atta wanted over suspected corruption and corruption-related offences. Ken Ofori-Atta masterminded the consolidated SML contract in 2023, which entitled the company to over $100 million a year from the state. That contract was for five years, renewable for another five years.

The three former GRA officials in custody were among those questioned by the OSP yesterday in an ongoing probe into the contracts and operations of SML and the complicity of state officials. They played various roles in the SML contract, and some of them have now crossed carpets from the GRA to SML.

Source:channel247online.com/ manassehazure.com