Government disputes free $1m payment to Kroll Associates

Government has disputed claims by the Auditor-General that the Finance Ministry has paid an amount of $1million to Kroll Associates UK Ltd. for no work done.

According to the 2018 Auditor-General’s Report on Ministries, Department, and Agencies the Ministry of Finance acquired the services of Kroll Associates in 2017 to recover assets from identified wrongdoers, investigate allegations of wrongdoing, provide evidence of wrongdoing, build capacity for transfer of skills among others.

But the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah addressing the media in Accra on said a notice has been served the Auditor-General to challenge the findings.

“Indeed the report itself concedes that information on this transaction was requested from the Ministry of Finance by the Auditors. The Ministry of Finance, in turn, reported that it will have to get the details from the office of the Senior Minister which was the appropriate office which executed this transaction. However, prior to furnishing the audit team with a response, the audit was completed and the report has now been published to the effect that there was no evidence of work for the payment of that $1million. The Auditor-General is also reported to have gone public in the mass media.”