Court gives OSP four more weeks to serve Ofori-Atta, Akore in US

The High Court in Accra has granted the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) an additional four weeks to complete the service of summons on former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his former Chief of Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, in the United States.

The decision has resulted in a further adjournment of the case, with proceedings now scheduled to continue on October 29, 2026.

At the hearing on Tuesday, September 29, the prosecution informed the court that a team dispatched to the United States to engage the US Department of Justice over the service of the summons had not yet returned to Ghana.

The prosecution therefore requested more time to complete the necessary processes, a request that was granted by the court.

Ofori-Atta is standing trial on 28 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences arising from investigations by the OSP into revenue assurance arrangements involving Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The other accused persons are former GRA Commissioners-General Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; former Customs Division Commissioners Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoah; Ernest Darko Akore; SML Chief Executive Officer Evans Adusei; and SML.

The OSP alleges that the accused persons were involved in corruption and related offences connected to the SML-GRA arrangements, which it says resulted in financial losses exceeding GH¢1.4 billion.

Those among the accused who have been served with the relevant court processes and have appeared before the court have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the previous hearing on August 27, 2026, the court adjourned the case to September 29 to give the prosecution additional time to serve Ofori-Atta and Akore with the summons in the United States.

The case forms part of a broader series of prosecutions initiated by the OSP that were temporarily affected by legal challenges concerning the Office’s prosecutorial authority.

Several OSP cases were put on hold from April 2026 after a High Court ruling raised questions about the Office’s ability to prosecute independently of the Attorney-General.

The Supreme Court subsequently upheld, in a unanimous decision, the constitutional validity of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), paving the way for the affected cases to proceed.