The High Court in Accra has granted the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) approval to serve former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his former Chief of Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, with summons in the United States in the ongoing Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case. The development clears the way for the OSP to formally notify the two accused persons of the criminal proceedings against them as it considers prosecuting them in absentia if they fail to return to Ghana. The case was c
The High Court in Accra has granted the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) approval to serve former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his former Chief of Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, with summons in the United States in the ongoing Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case.
The development clears the way for the OSP to formally notify the two accused persons of the criminal proceedings against them as it considers prosecuting them in absentia if they fail to return to Ghana.
The case was called before the court on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
According to the OSP, the relevant court documents have been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department and are being processed for service through authorised channels in the United States.
The Office has stressed that prosecution in absentia does not automatically follow from the filing of criminal charges.
It said the accused must first be properly charged and duly notified of the proceedings before a court can consider proceeding in their absence.
The OSP explained that such notification must be effected through formal legal channels and cannot simply involve a phone call, social media communication or informing the accused person’s lawyers.
Ofori-Atta is facing 28 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences arising from the OSP’s investigation into revenue assurance contracts between SML and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
He was initially charged alongside seven other persons on 78 counts in November 2025 before the charges were subsequently streamlined.
The other accused persons are former GRA Commissioners-General Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; former Commissioners of the Customs Division Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoah; Ernest Darko Akore; SML Chief Executive Officer Evans Adusei; and SML itself.
The prosecution alleges that the accused persons were involved in corruption and corruption-related offences arising from the SML-GRA revenue assurance arrangements, which allegedly resulted in financial losses running into more than GH¢1.4 billion.
The latest development follows the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision upholding the constitutional validity of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
Proceedings in a number of OSP cases had been stalled since April 2026 following a High Court ruling that questioned the Office’s authority to prosecute.
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