The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has defended his office over criticism surrounding the delay in the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, attributing the situation to a lack of cooperation from state security agencies at the time of Ofori-Atta’s departure.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has faced heavy public scrutiny for failing to prevent the former minister from travelling to the United States despite ongoing investigations into his tenure.
Speaking in an interview on the KSM Show, Mr. Agyebeng said his office was handicapped because it did not have direct control over Ghana’s exit points, including the Kotoka International Airport.
The Special Prosecutor also pointed to the influence of the former minister, suggesting that his family ties to former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo contributed to the lack of institutional cooperation.
“He left between December 1 and 7. Who was in power at that time? And we don’t control the airports and exit gates. But we’re taking flak, why allow him to leave? His cousin was President, Nana Akufo-Addo. Let’s face facts,” he pointed out.
Mr. Agyebeng explained that the OSP’s attempts to secure support from other agencies were ignored.
He further noted that the security setup during that period appeared to have been working against his office, making it difficult to carry out its mandate effectively.
“We were not getting the cooperation of the other security agencies at the time he left for the States. We asked for all that we didn’t get. It was as if there was a policy of blocking the OSP out.
“That is what we were facing, and those are the circumstances we were being expected to perform. I think I complained about this. The security was set up against the OSP so that we would not be able to perform our job.
“This is the situation we found ourselves in, and I’m being asked how we let Ofori-Atta flee. We didn’t watch him leave. But we couldn’t prevent him from leaving the airport. We were powerless.”
He added that the OSP’s operational environment has since improved, with greater collaboration now in place with agencies such as the Ghana Immigration Service and National Security.
“Now we can rely on the Ghana Immigration Service to block someone, now we can rely on National Security to block someone [from travelling outside Ghana]. Then, and at the time he left, you will call up Immigration, and no one will bother to respond to you. You write to Immigration, and no one will respond to you. That was the situation,” he added.
His comments follow the announcement by the Office of the Special Prosecutor to press charges against several individuals implicated in the controversial revenue assurance contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) by the end of November 2025.
Those expected to face prosecution include former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, former Commissioner-Generals of the GRA — Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Emmanuel Kofi Nti — as well as GRA officials, Isaac Crentsil, and Kwadwo Damoa. Ernest Akore, former Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, will also be charged by the Special Prosecutor.
The decision follows months of investigations by the OSP, which uncovered alleged acts of corruption, abuse of office, and breaches of procurement laws in the award and execution of the SML-GRA contracts.
