Ex-Ghana midfielder Sulley Ali Mutaria detained in Dubai?

Reports reaching The Herald indicate that celebrated Ghanaian footballer Sulley Muntari Mutaria has been detained in Dubai.

The circumstances surrounding the former Black Stars midfielder’s detention by the Dubai authorities remain unclear.

Sources have informed The Herald that Mutaria, who played for several top European clubs, including AC Milan, Portsmouth, and Inter Milanand even won the UEFA Champions League, has been stuck in Dubai for some time now.

He is reportedly the second high-profile Ghanaian to have been held in the United Arab Emirates in recent months.

Earlier, The Herald reported the detention of Kevin Okyere, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), in connection with a US$94 million fraud case filed by Switzerland-based Petraco Oil Company SA.

According to available reports, Okyere was apprehended by Dubai police while in transit on an Emirates Airlines flight to Paris, France. Other sources suggest he had quietly left Accra the previous night to meet a senior official from a major oil company to discuss a potential partnership with Lukoil, as well as with Ghana’s Ministry of Energy officials. What was meant to be a discreet business trip, however, reportedly turned into a diplomatic and legal storm.

Dubai authorities are said to be preparing to extradite Okyere to the United Kingdom after he allegedly failed to honour a court summons relating to a cargo of petrol valued at US$29,321,064.51, supplied by EDURC Company DMCC and discharged at Tema, Ghana.

Mr Okyere, a UK citizen, had been warned that a bench warrant would be issued for his arrest if he failed to appear before the court on Wednesday, 3 September 2025, a warning he allegedly ignored.

The Herald further gathered that the dispute between Petraco Oil Company SA, Springfield, and GMP Energy Limited, another Ghanaian oil firm, involves allegations that proceeds from crude oil liftings made through their joint venture, Petraco Energies DMCC, were diverted, resulting in estimated losses of US$94 million.

In June 2025, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) was petitioned by Petraco to initiate criminal investigations into what it described as a “systematic and orchestrated economic crime” involving Springfield and GMP Energy, as well as their senior executives.

Springfield Exploration & Production Limited has denied any wrongdoing, describing the petition as “misleading and damaging”. GMP Energy, owned solely by Ghanaian-born Indian businesswoman Geena Malkani, has also denied the allegations and threatened legal action against sections of the media.

In a petition dated 16 May 2025, Alberto G. Salsiccia, Chief Financial Officer of Petraco Oil Company SA, accused Springfield, GMP Energy, and their key officers, Kevin Okyere, Geena Malkani Punjabi, and Emmanuel Ansah Bernasko of executing a “sophisticated fraud scheme” through “calculated deception and abuse of business relationships” in Ghana’s petroleum sector.