The MIIF scandal has taken center stage in Ghana’s political conversation after revelations that millions of dollars in mineral royalties may have been siphoned off under questionable schemes.
At the heart of the matter is Dr. Sledge Nana Yaw Duodu, Chief Executive of Goldridge Refinery Ltd., who remains in the custody of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for failing to meet bail conditions in a corruption probe tied to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
For many, the story may sound like yet another corruption case. However, political communicator and associate volunteer at IMANI Africa, Kay Codjoe, insists it is far more than that. In his words, this is “the peeling back of a rotten ceiling that has been leaking for years.”
According to Codjoe, the scandal is built on layers of dubious transactions buried under phrases like “gold trade programmes” and “commodities stabilization.”
Behind the technical jargon lies a troubling reality: more than $94 million in public wealth allegedly vanished through failed trade settlements tied to Goldridge’s role in the so-called Gold for Forex and Gold for Oil schemes.
Adding a $25 million MIIF overdraft facility that has reportedly gone unpaid, the liabilities now stand at a staggering $119 million.
“MIIF was not born a rogue scheme. It was established with solemn intent: to manage Ghana’s mineral royalties and build a sovereign wealth fund for future generations. Yet under the cover of legality, its custodians opened the vaults of our national patrimony to a handful of aggregators, with Goldridge at the front of the queue.”
Kay Codjoe
Billions Inflows, Billions Missing
From August 2023 to September 2024, MIIF’s Commodities Trading Programme announced $1.02 billion in gold export inflows.
Yet beneath the glossy reports, Codjoe claimed untraceable disbursements tell a darker story. He alleged that GHC2.2 billion, about $150 million, was funneled into aggregators without lawful justification.
The pattern of spending raised more questions than answers. According to Codjoe, GHC240 million was directed toward AstroTurf pitches and a mining museum while actual mining communities languished in poverty.
Another GHC84.8 million, equivalent to about $5 million, was reportedly spent on mining equipment that cannot be accounted for.
On top of that, GHC1.4 billion, or $82 million, was allegedly diverted into speculative equity stakes in companies ranging from McDan’s Electrochem to Atlantic Lithium.
Names linked to the operations include MIIF’s Legal Manager Nana Serwaa Owusu, Head of Legal and Compliance Daniel Imadi, Chief Investment Officer Bubune Sorkpor, CEO Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, and Board Chair Prof. Douglas Boateng.
Together, Codjoe said, they presided over what looked less like a sovereign wealth fund and more like a “family susu scheme.”
“Even Bulk Oil Distribution Companies, meant to safeguard fuel stability, now find themselves with $30 million stuck in Goldridge’s hands. What was designed as a national strategy to secure forex for oil imports has become an elaborate game of pass the loot. And still, we were told MIIF ‘stabilized the forex market’ and ‘supported BDCs.’”
Kay Codjoe
He added that the lofty technocratic language surrounding the programme only concealed a deeper tragedy.
In reality, one cannot claim to stabilize an economy while simultaneously draining it, nor can a nation be supported by driving its financial backbone further into debt.
MIIF Scandal Goes Beyond Dr. Sledge
While Dr. Sledge faces the spotlight, Kay Codjoe stressed the case should not end with him. He urged investigators to follow the trail into MIIF’s boardroom, the Ministry of Finance, and other approving authorities.
He posed hard questions: Where was Parliament while MIIF was transformed into a private equity firm using public cash? Where was the Auditor General as mineral royalties intended for schools and hospitals were allegedly diverted into AstroTurf projects?
Codjoe argued the scandal echoes the failed Agyapa Royalties deal, which citizens resisted fiercely.
“Different name, same appetite,” he said, warning that Ghana’s gold resources risk being continually treated as a buffet for the well-connected.
As such, Codjoe stressed that the public must not see this as business as usual.
“Gold is supposed to be our blessing. Yet in the hands of MIIF and its partners, it became the alibi for looting in broad daylight.
“If $119 million can disappear under the watch of our mineral fund, then what future are we saving for?”
Kay Codjoe
Accordingly, He called on citizens to decide whether Ghana will tolerate another lost decade or demand full accountability from “boardroom to courtroom.”
The OSP’s handling of this case could become a litmus test for whether Ghana is serious about fighting corruption or whether scandals like the MIIF affair will simply fade into political dust.
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