Share the post "Audit Service Confirms – GHc52.5billion Of Tax Revenue Missing"
Following revelation by US based investigative journalist, Kevin taylor, that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has diverted some US$10billion (Ghc52.5billion) of tax revenue from the Ghana Commercial Bank to his private bank, Data Bank, the Audit Service has confirmed that indeed the money is missing.
In a statement issued in Accra today, the Audit Service said, it has been hunting for the jumbo cash and has managed to trace some.
“Please be informed that our letter in circulation is one of the letters which we issued to participating commercial banks for their infractions noted during our reconciliation of their statements. With the assistance of both the commercial banks and Bank of Ghana, we have been able to trace with satisfaction, some of the transfers. The cooperation from the participating banks is encouraging and we are hoping to complete the reconciliation exercise soon.”
The release dated 1st December, 2020, is signed by Deputy Auditor General/EID, George Swanzy Winful.
It adds that it intends to surcharge errant banks involved. “In accordance with Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution, we intend surcharging any participating commercial bank who defaults in transferring tax receipts collected from the transit accounts into the respective BoG Holding Accounts.”
The statement is a jaw dropping confirmation that indeed Ghc52.5 billion of tax payer money had gone missing. US based investigative journalist, Kevin Ebo Taylor, revealed in a broadcast on his Loud Silence Media that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had diverted the money from the Ghana Commercial Bank to Data Bank.
According to him, between January and June 2020, the Audit Service which had traditionally audited Ghana’s revenue inflows at the Central Bank, had decided to edit at the sources of collection. One of the sources delegated by the BoG to collect tax revenue on its behalf was the Ghana Commercial Bank.
Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo who was forced by President Akufo-Addo to go on leave is said to have discovered at GCB that after collecting the monies, the requirement for the GCB to transfer the money to the BoG through a transit account had not been adhered to. Rather, the GCB had transferred the money into an unknown account.
The GCB is said to have explained in a letter to the Auditors that the Finance Ministry headed by Ofori-Atta had instructed them to do the diversion. Consequently, even though GCB had received the revenues, it does not know where the money went.
Kevin Taylor reveals the money had been routed to Data Bank Financial Services, a private company owned by the Finance Minister, and that Ofori-Atta had used the money to buy the bonds that he floated for Ghana on the money market.
Consequently, Ofori-Atta allegedly stole the money, used it to buy Ghana’s bonds and creamed off interests on it through his Data Bank. Meanwhile, the money still belongs to him as the coupon holder of the bonds that he floated for Ghana allegedly using proxy companies.
When Mr. Taylor made the revelation yesterday, many people were shocked. Others however expressed skepticism on account of the sheer size of alleged heist. The Audit Service’ confirmation that indeed they are still tracing the money is therefore quite sobering.
Mr. Taylor reveals that following from the discovery, the Auditor General’s Department had written to the GCB to explain itself, failure of which the bank would be surcharged. However, Domelevo was forced by President Akufo-Addo to go on mandatory leave.
In place of Domelevo, his Deputy Johnson Akuamoa Asiedu, has been acting in his place. Akuamoah Asiedu is a stooge of the Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Prof. Edward Dua Agyeman, who had led the campaign to hound out Domelevo.
Asiedu lives on the good graces of Prof Dua Agyemang because staff of the Audit Service want him out. He is accused of being lazy and corrupt by the staff. His situation makes him the bitch of Dua Agyemang.
The Audit Service Board Chairman is said to be conspiratorial in the mammoth heist by Ofori-Atta and has allegedly directed Akuamoah Asiedu not to surcharge the Ghana Commercial Bank, as doing so would force the GCB to go to court and reveal that the Finance Minister directed the bank to divert the money.
Kevin Taylor points out that per due process, the Audit Service is supposed to surcharge the GCB two weeks after querying the bank. It has been more than two weeks and the bank has still not been surcharged by the Acting Auditor General.
Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor has also said that the recent fire at the Ghana Commercial Bank head office building may not be unconnected to the alleged heist by Ofori-Atta. Apparently, some people want to eliminate the paper trail.