President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the cancellation of all contract agreements between the Government of Ghana and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), following the completion of a probe by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The directive, conveyed through a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. It instructed the Finance Minister to initiate immediate processes to dissolve every contractual arrangement with SML.
The OSP’s investigation centred on revenue assurance contracts between SML and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), examining alleged procurement breaches, concerns over the scope of work, and questions about value to the state.
Presenting the OSP’s findings at a briefing in Accra on Thursday, October 30, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng noted that the inquiry established no legitimate need for SML’s involvement in the services it claimed to deliver.
The contracts, according to the OSP, were awarded through “self-serving official patronage, sponsorship, and promotion based on false and unverified claims.”
SML, however, insists it has committed no wrongdoing. The company has defended its operations as transparent, legal, and beneficial to Ghana.
In a statement released on Friday, October 31, 2025, the firm emphasised that it had “fully cooperated with all lawful investigations” and urged that public debate be guided by verified facts instead of conjecture.
“We will present all relevant documents before the appropriate authorities. We remain proud of the work done, the controls that governed it, and the measurable value created for Ghana,” the company’s Lead Counsel stated.
The company reaffirmed its status as a wholly Ghanaian-owned organisation with no political ties, explaining that its contracts with the GRA were structured under a “risk-and-reward” framework designed to improve government revenue collection based on demonstrable outcomes.
SML added that its core services — including transaction audits, external price verification, and monitoring of downstream petroleum operations — were conducted under the supervision of the GRA, and payments were made only after independent verification of results.
This latest move builds on earlier actions by the Ghana Revenue Authority in May 2024, when it complied with a directive from former President Akufo-Addo to revoke the Transaction Audit and External Verification Service (AEVS) contract with SML.
At the time, the GRA also halted the Upstream Petroleum and Minerals Revenue Audit portions of the contract pending a full assessment.
Furthermore, the Authority revealed plans to modify the Measurement Audit agreement for downstream petroleum products by changing it into a fixed-fee arrangement and indicated that it would conduct a broader review, covering areas such as service scope, termination conditions, and intellectual property obligations.
