Court clears OSP to serve summons on Ofori Atta, Chief of Staff in procurement case

The High Court has approved an application from the Office of the Special Prosecutor to formally serve criminal summons on former Finance Minister Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori Atta and his Chief of Staff, Ernest Akore, in a case centred on alleged unlawful procurement activities.

The proceedings were held in camera.
During the sitting, the court also granted bail to five other accused persons: Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Ammishaddai Owusu Amoah, Isaac Crentsil, Evans Adusei and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd. Each was admitted to bail in the sum of GHS50 million with two sureties to be justified. They are required to surrender all passports and travel documents to the court registry and report to the Special Prosecutor once every week.

Because the court rose later than anticipated, the formal execution of the bail conditions will resume on Monday, 15 December 2025, when the accused return to complete the necessary documentation. Until then, they remain on their existing bail terms issued by the OSP.

Prosecutors allege that the accused took part in a coordinated scheme that improperly awarded procurement contracts to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd, resulting in losses exceeding GHS1.4 billion to the state. They further claim that only timely intervention prevented additional losses that could have run into billions of dollars.

The case has been adjourned to 17 December 2025, when Kwadwo Damoah, Member of Parliament for Jaman South and the sixth accused, is expected to be present to take his plea.

The court, however, rejected a request from prosecutors for a bench warrant, ruling that Damoah enjoyed parliamentary immunity at the time the summons was issued because Parliament was in session.