26 Companies In Cayman Islands Fronting for Kufuor

Your authoritative “The Ghana Palaver” investigations have uncovered 26 companies in the Cayman Island all connected to the Kufuor led New Patriotic Party (NPP). Most of the companies were formed in 2003 and 2009 during the NPP regime.

The Ghana Palaver’s revelation is coming in the wake of United States and Ghanaian officials investigations into the activities of EO, a Ghanaian company connected to the Jubilee oilfields in Ghana. Now it is believed that EO is not the only company fronting for the NPP but also the 26 companies spotted in the Cayman Islands. The names of the companies are being withheld by this newspaper but would be published as soon as Ghana Palaver’s investigations are completed.

In a story carried in the Financial Times, of London, said US and Ghana authorities were investigating the Ghanaian authorities were investigating the Ghanaian company EO with a share in the largest of all recent offshore discoveries in Africa – the Jubilee oilfield. EO, the paper said, is suspected of using ties to the Kufuor administration to gain preferential terms.

Who is behind EO?

EO was created by two US-based Ghanaians. Kwame Bawuah Edusei, is the ‘E’ who is a medical doctor and stalwart of the former ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), and according to his political allies a friend of former President Kufuor the Financial Times said, adding that Bawuah Edusei was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador first to Geneva and then Washington, where he served until last January.

George Owusu, is the O in the group, was a Houston-based businessman who worked for oil companies including as a commodities manager for Royal Dutch Shell. Until recently, he was also the representative for Kosmos in Ghana.

The two, played a central role in bringing the Texan company to Ghana in 2004 when interest in the country’s potential had ebbed after more than a decade of promising but inconclusive exploration along the coast. They moved the company from Ghana to the Cayman Islands where it is registered as KG (after Kwame and George) shortly before elections ended in opposition victory a year ago.

Ghanaian officials suspected that EO used its political connections to top officials in the former government to gain a hold on the offshore oil block and win more favourable terms both for themselves and for Kosmos.

John Craven, an Irish oilman with much experience in Ghana said his company, Ennex, withdrew from a possible deal on the same oil block in 2003. “Geologically we wanted to do the deal. We could have raised the money to do it but we were uncomfortable with EO’s demands” which included financing a share in the block and fees, he said.

EO gained a stake in what turned out to be the billion-barrel plus Jubilee oilfield when it brought in Kosmos in June 2004. According to a contract seen by the Financial Times, Kosmos agreed to finance EO’s share of exploration and development costs up to the production of first oil. Payments made by Kosmos to EO, whose stake could now be worth more than $200m, are also under investigation, according to officials. Kosmos told the Financial Times that “all payments to EO were for operational services rendered and all those fees have been exhaustively audited and documented by Ernst & Young.”

Ghana Palaver will be publishing the names of the 26 companies next week as soon as its investigations are completed. Stay tuned.