BY Issah Olegor
The legal team of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has disputed claims by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, November 24, 2025, in connection with a 78-count related corruption case.
According to his lawyer, Frank Davies, Ofori-Atta has not yet been formally served with any charges or notified of the court proceedings.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on Thursday, November 20, Davies emphasized that formal service of charges is a mandatory legal requirement before any criminal trial can proceed.
“My client, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, has not been formally notified or served with any filed charges. He has to be formally served by the Office of the Special Prosecutor. It is a criminal summons — he has to be notified, including notification of the trial date. Nothing of that sort has been done,” he said.
Davies further added that if the OSP had served the documents, Ofori-Atta would have immediately informed his lawyers.
The lawyer also stressed that Ofori-Atta is prepared to face the legal process once the formalities are completed.
“If allegations are raised against you, you are not a demi-god. You are subject to proof in court. So yes, if he is notified, we know what to do as lawyers, and he knows what to do as a responsible citizen of this country. He has not ceased to be a responsible citizen. Once upon a time, he was the Minister for Finance,” Davies stated.
This development comes after the OSP announced its intention to arraign Ofori-Atta alongside seven other accused persons, including Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), Ernest Darko Akore, former Chef de Cabinet to the Minister of Finance; Emmanuel Kofi Nti, former Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA); Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, also former Commissioner-General of GRA; Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoah, former Customs Division Commissioners; and Evans Adusei, CEO of SML.
The charges filed against the accused relate to an alleged long-running scheme from 2017 to 2024, described by the OSP as a “criminal enterprise.”
The prosecution alleges that senior public officials and SML colluded to illegally award contracts, siphoning over GH₵1.4 billion from the state.
Key allegations outlined in the charge sheet include:
Illegal Procurement: Contracts were allegedly awarded to SML without mandatory approvals from the Public Procurement Authority Board or, in high-value cases, Parliament.
False Pretences: Contracts were secured through misrepresentations about SML’s financial strength, technical expertise, and proprietary technology claimed to be linked to multinational company COTECNA S.A.
Payment for No Service: SML reportedly received automatic payments without verification of service delivery.
Abuse of Office: Public officials allegedly exploited their positions to benefit SML and its owner.
The charges also highlight a halted upstream petroleum and mineral audit project, valued at US$2.79 billion, representing potential future losses had the contracts continued.
The OSP has indicated ongoing efforts to serve Ofori-Atta, who is currently outside Ghana, and to pursue court orders for serving charges on other accused individuals not within the jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the International Police Organization (INTERPOL) has quietly removed from its public website the Red Notice earlier issued against Ofori-Atta, following weeks of controversy over the legitimacy of the request submitted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The Red Notice—which functions as an international alert to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition—was issued on June 5, 2025, at the request of the OSP.
At the time, Ofori-Atta had not been charged with any crime in Ghana, even though the OSP had declared him a “fugitive” and claimed he was avoiding invitations to assist with an investigation into the SML deal.
Despite the publicity campaign, the OSP did not file any formal charges until November 18, 2025—more than 11 months after investigations began.
During this period, lawyers for Ofori-Atta insisted that their client was neither hiding nor evading any summons.
They argued that the OSP’s application for an INTERPOL Red Notice was procedurally unlawful, because INTERPOL rules prohibit issuing a red alert against a person who has not been charged or convicted. According to correspondence cited by persons close to the former minister, Ofori-Atta’s legal team petitioned INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files (CCF), accusing the OSP of breaching international rules governing criminal data submissions.
They argued that the OSP provided misleading information to trigger the Red Notice.
INTERPOL, after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the request, removed Ofori-Atta’s profile from its website once Ghana officially filed charges against him on November 18.
