The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has revealed that investigations under Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) have uncovered GH¢22 million in confirmed tax evasion linked to transactions under the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP).
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, January 10, Dr. Ayine said the amount was established through collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
“In respect of DRIP, I can say with certainty that, working with the GRA, we have been able to establish that GH¢22 million in taxes was evaded,” he stated.
The Attorney-General explained that his office had initially estimated that GH¢38.7 million in taxes may have been evaded, but lacked the legal authority to make a final determination without confirmation from the GRA.
“As of July last year, I wrote to the GRA for confirmation. I am speaking with certainty now because just last week, the GRA confirmed the GH¢22 million figure,” he said.
Dr. Ayine disclosed that the company involved had written to authorities, admitting that some items were cleared under tax exemptions when they should not have qualified for such exemptions. However, he dismissed the explanation as irrelevant.
“Once you import goods and clear them into the national customs territory without paying duty when you ought to have paid, it means you have evaded taxes,” he stressed.
Beyond the confirmed tax evasion, the Attorney-General also revealed that an additional overpayment of US$2 million has been identified in the DRIP transactions.
“US$2 million has also been flagged, and I am going to pursue them for that amount because it is very clear from our evidence that they were overpaid,” he said.
Dr. Ayine rejected claims that the overpayment may have resulted from a clerical error, insisting that documentary evidence proves otherwise.
“We obtained invoices from the Ministry of Finance, the District Assemblies Common Fund, and the Public Procurement Authority, and compared them. That figure is confirmed by all the invoices — they were overpaid by US$2 million,” he noted.
The Attorney-General said his office is considering both civil action and possible criminal prosecution to recover the funds.
“I will insist on recovering the money. I am considering either taking a civil action to recover it or possibly bringing criminal prosecution,” he added.
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