Ghana

GH¢1.5bn in Suspected Illicit Assets Frozen Under ORAL—Kwakye Ofosu

The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has revealed that authorities have frozen assets valued at GH¢1.5 billion as investigations intensify under the government’s anti-corruption drive, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL). Speaking during parliamentary discussions on the State of the Nation Address delivered by John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 3, the minister clarified that the frozen assets form part of ongoing probes and cannot yet be permanently reclaimed by the state.

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He stressed that although investigators have successfully traced and secured significant properties and funds, the final recovery process hinges on successful prosecutions and court rulings. According to him, only after convictions and judicial forfeiture orders can the assets legally become state property.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu also rejected suggestions that only GH¢600 million had been recovered under the ORAL programme. He explained that the figure being circulated represents funds retrieved by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) through its routine anti-corruption operations and not assets specifically secured under the ORAL initiative.

Operation Recover All Loot, a key policy of the Mahama administration, was introduced to track down and secure state resources believed to have been lost through corruption, financial impropriety, and illicit enrichment. The programme brings together EOCO and other investigative agencies to trace suspicious financial flows, freeze assets, and initiate legal proceedings where necessary.

Since its launch, ORAL has become central to the government’s accountability agenda. Officials maintain that asset recovery is a structured legal process that requires thorough investigations, prosecution of suspects, and court authorisation before any seized property can be permanently forfeited to the state.

The minister reaffirmed the administration’s determination to see all cases through to completion, assuring the public that due process will be followed to ensure that misappropriated public resources are lawfully recovered.