The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that investigations by state agencies have implicated Percival Kofi Akpaloo, leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), in an alleged ¢3.1 million diversion of funds linked to a cocoa roads contract awarded by the Ghana Cocoa Board.
The Attorney-General made the revelation while addressing the public at the Government Accountability Series, where he outlined the findings of investigations initiated following a suspicious transaction report filed by the Financial Intelligence Centre.
Dr Ayine said the matter began when the Financial Intelligence Centre filed a Suspicious Transaction Report with First Bank Ghana Limited concerning unusual transactions on an account belonging to Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited, which was initially believed to be owned by Mr Akpaloo.
The report triggered an investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office, which uncovered what the Attorney-General described as a scheme involving misrepresentation, forgery, and unauthorised handling of Cocoa Board payments.
According to Dr Ayine, investigations established that Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited, the company legitimately awarded the feeder roads contract, was in fact wholly owned by a woman identified as Akua Pomaa.
“The contract, which was valued at 29.5 million Ghana Cedis, was awarded in December 2020. Although the project commenced and an initial amount was properly deposited into Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited, subsequent payments raised serious concerns regarding misrepresentation, forgery, and unauthorised handling of the checks.”
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine
Secret Incoporation of Another Company
Dr Ayine said investigators found that Mr Akpaloo had secretly incorporated another company with a nearly identical name to the legitimate contractor. “He deliberately added an ‘H’ to the name Pomaa,” the Attorney-General stated, noting that the difference between the two entities was subtle but significant.
While the original Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited belonged to Akua Pomaa, the newly incorporated entity was controlled by Mr Akpaloo. Between December 2022 and June 2024, Dr Ayine said, Mr Akpaloo allegedly collected eight cheques issued by the Ghana Cocoa Board in the name of the original Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited.
The cheques, amounting to a total of ¢3,169,432.22, were not deposited into the account of the legitimate contractor. Instead, investigators found that the cheques were deposited into the account of the second company bearing the altered name at First Bank Ghana Limited. “Our investigations confirmed that Akua Pomaa was completely unaware of both the existence of this second company and the diversion of the funds,” Dr Ayine said.
He explained that the true owner of the contracting company only became aware of the situation in June 2024, when the Ghana Cocoa Board contacted her over outstanding balances on the contract. It was then, he said, that she discovered that payments meant for her company had been misdirected without her consent.
The Attorney-General further disclosed that Akua Pomaa alleged that Mr Akpaloo forged her signature on the Cocoa Board contract. According to Dr Ayine, the signature was allegedly executed using her former name, Mercy Owusu, to secure the agreement without her authorisation. This allegation, he said, formed a critical part of the evidence gathered during the investigation.
First Bank Ghana Limited also conducted an internal review following the suspicious transaction report. Dr Ayine said the bank’s findings corroborated the fraud allegations made by investigators. The bank concluded that Mr Akpaloo knowingly misrepresented ownership of the cheques and deposited them into an account that did not belong to the named payee.
Bank’s Internal Operational Failures
The Attorney-General added that the bank acknowledged internal operational failures, particularly its inability to detect discrepancies between the names on the cheques and the account into which they were deposited.
Dr Ayine named the suspects in the case as Percival Kofi Akpaloo, Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited with the altered spelling, and Delvin Akpaloo, the wife of Mr Akpaloo. He indicated that evidence gathered points to the involvement of the suspects in multiple criminal offences, including stealing, forgery, and money laundering.
“The evidence shows that they engaged in various criminal offences,” the Attorney-General said, adding pointedly that such schemes increasingly involve close associates and family members. He stressed that the investigations were thorough and backed by documentary and financial records obtained by the Economic and Organised Crime Office.
Dr Ayine announced that his office would formally charge the suspects upon the resumption of work after the Christmas holidays. He said the case forms part of a broader effort by the government to strengthen accountability and ensure that public funds, particularly those meant for infrastructure development, are protected from abuse.
He emphasised that the allegations remain subject to judicial determination and that the suspects would be given the opportunity to answer the charges in court. Nonetheless, he said the findings underscore the importance of vigilance within both public institutions and the banking sector to prevent the misuse of state funds.
The Attorney-General concluded by reaffirming his commitment to pursuing cases involving financial misconduct regardless of the political affiliation or public standing of those involved. He said the Cocoa Board matter would be prosecuted diligently, with the aim of safeguarding public resources and reinforcing confidence in the administration of justice.
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