Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)

The Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, is actively collaborating with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in investigations into the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) deal.

Anthony Sarpong, who assumed office in March 2025, has been providing critical insights into an audit conducted by his former firm, KPMG, on SML’s operations after being invited to the OSP on Friday June 27, 2025.

The KPMG report which sought to audit the terms of the controversial contract, was commissioned by President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2024 following a Fourth Estate exposé which uncovered procurement breaches, weak oversight, and questionable financial practices.

The final audit however discredited SML’s claims of significantly boosting petroleum revenue, revealing that its systems were not integrated with the main national revenue monitoring platforms, including the Electronic Revenue Data Management System (ERDMS) and Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

Earlier this week on June 24, 2025, the OSP arrested and later granted bail to three former GRA officials linked to the scandal including; former Commissioner-General Rev Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Commissioner of Customs Isaac Crentsil (now an SML executive), and former GRA Technical Advisor Christian Tetteh Sottie, now SML’s Managing Director.

The OSP’s action was also taken on SML CEO Evans Adusei, former GRA Deputy Commissioner Philip Jude Mensah, and two Public Procurement Authority (PPA) officials, Joseph Kuruk and Faustina Adjorkor, who were all allegedly involved in the rejected procurement processes surrounding the deal.

The investigation by the The Fourth Estate previously reported that SML, with no proven track record in revenue assurance, was awarded contracts worth over $100 million annually, receiving payments even after a 2024 presidential freeze.

By the end of 2023, SML had received over $141 million in total.

SML had also claimed to have saved the country over GH¢3 billion in revenue leakages but later withdrew the statements after failing to provide evidence.

Additionally, SML’s meters were not used for official tax assessments and were deemed less reliable than those certified by the Ghana Standards Authority.

Although parts of SML’s operations remain suspended, the company resumed downstream activities in mid-2024, despite strong public opposition and criticism from then-opposition leader John Dramani Mahama, who promised to cancel the deal if elected.

Meanwhile, investigations into the scandal are still ongoing.

GhanaWeb Special: The gold market that fuels galamsey