The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has sacked the Commissioner General of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority from office with immediate effect.
The Commissioner General, Col. (rtd) Kwadwo Damoah, is currently under the microscope of Ghana’s Office of Special Prosecutor, (OSP), headed by Attorney Kissi Agyebeng, for multiple corruption and corruption-related investigations at the Customs Division.
A statement signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, dated August 26, 2022, said: “Following the expiration of your contract of service as Commissioner (Customs Division) of the Ghana Revenue Authority on 13th October 2021, the President of the Republic has directed that effective Friday,26th August 2022, you hand over your duties and office to the acting Deputy Commissioner (Preventive Service), Mr. Seidu Iddrisu Iddisah, who will act as the Commissioner General (Customs Division) pending the President’s substantive appointment”.
The statement, which was directly addressed to Commissioner General Kwadwo Damoah, was also copied to Vice President Muhamadu Bawumiah, who is the head of Ghana’s Economic Management Team, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, the Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and the Chairman of the Public Services Commission.
The President, in the statement, thanked Col. Kwadwo Damoah for his service to the country and wished him well in his future endeavors.
Following the fallout from the Labianca Frozen Foods tax evasion scandal, the Office of the Special Prosecutor, (OSP), launched a probe into alleged corrupt practices and offenses committed at the Customs Division of the GRA in relation to goods and vehicles that were auctioned by Ghana Customs Division over the past six years.
In a statement issued by the OSP in Accra dated August 22, 2022, the Special Prosecutor disclosed that he has “commenced investigation into suspected corruption and corruption-related offenses in respect of auction sale of vehicles and other goods by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority between 1 July 2016 and 15 August 2022”.
The statement said the OSP has in a letter dated 19 August 2022, directed the Commissioner of the Customs Division, retired Col. Kwadwo Damoah, to produce and furnish the Special Prosecutor’s Office with information on five specific items; the particulars and clear description of all auctioned items, the quantity of all auctioned items, the prices at which the items were auctioned, the date of each auction sales, and lastly the full names, addresses and telephone numbers of the successful bidders at all the auction sales.
The Commissioner of the Customs Division, according to the statement, has also been directed by the OSP to immediately halt and discontinue all auction sales till the investigation has been concluded.
On August 3, 2022, the OSP issued a report of its investigations into the alleged commission of corruption and corruption-related offenses involving Labianca Group of Companies owned by a Member of the Council of State, Ghana’s highest constitutionally mandated advisory body to the President on critical national issues, and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
In the report, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, disclosed that under the supervision of the Commissioner of Customs, Kwadwo Damoah, Labianca Group of Companies evaded taxes to the tune of GHC1.074m in connivance with people at the top echelon of the Customs Division. Labianca Group of Companies has since refunded the value of the taxes it evaded back into the national coffers. This led to a public spat between Commissioner Kwadwo Damoah and Special Prosecutor Agyebeng in the media, with each side accusing the other of harboring a sinister plot.
