The criminal trial of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is scheduled to resume on August 27, 2026, following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the constitutional validity of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) Act, 2017 (Act 959).
The OSP announced the resumption date on Monday, August 10, bringing renewed focus to several corruption-related cases that had been put on hold amid legal challenges to the prosecutorial powers of the anti-corruption body.
The Supreme Court’s decision has removed a key legal obstacle to the OSP’s ability to investigate and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offences without prior authorisation.
Proceedings in the case were previously suspended after an earlier High Court ruling raised questions about aspects of the OSP’s prosecutorial mandate.
28 charges against Ofori-Atta
Mr Ofori-Atta is facing 28 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences arising from investigations into revenue assurance contracts between Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
He was originally charged alongside seven other individuals on 78 counts in November 2025. The charges were later amended, leaving Mr Ofori-Atta to face 28 counts, with the other accused persons facing separate allegations arising from the case.
Among those also implicated are former GRA Commissioners-General Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, former Customs Commissioners Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoah, SML Chief Executive Officer Evans Adusei, and Ernest Darko Akore, a former Chief of Cabinet to Mr Ofori-Atta.
The prosecution alleges that the accused persons were involved in acts of corruption and related offences connected to the SML-GRA revenue assurance arrangements.
The case has generated significant public interest, particularly over the financial value of the contracts and the alleged roles of public officials and private-sector actors in their implementation.
US residency and extradition proceedings
The case has also been complicated by Mr Ofori-Atta’s immigration status in the United States.
In June 2026, his lawyers announced that a US Immigration Court had approved his application for adjustment of status, paving the way for him to obtain permanent residency in the United States.
The development prompted renewed public discussion over the former minister’s return to Ghana to face the charges against him.
The OSP, however, has stressed that the US immigration decision should not be interpreted as a determination on the substance of the corruption allegations against Mr Ofori-Atta.
The anti-corruption agency has explained that it was not a party to the US immigration proceedings and that its involvement in the United States relates to extradition proceedings being pursued through the Attorney-General.
It has further clarified that the extradition documents were not before the US Immigration Court.
The OSP has therefore cautioned against relying on findings from the immigration proceedings as a judgment on the credibility of the evidence or allegations forming the basis of the criminal case in Ghana.
With the Supreme Court now having affirmed the validity of the OSP Act, the focus is expected to shift to the substantive proceedings when Mr Ofori-Atta and the other accused persons return to court on August 27.
