The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), under the leadership of the current Commissioner-General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, issued a letter signed by its Acting Director of Legal, Freeman Sarbah, refuting claims that it paid SML Ghana Limited for "no work done."

In the October 14, 2025, letter, the GRA said that its "records confirm that SML Ghana Limited undertook work relating to Transaction Audit and External Price Verification Services and Revenue Assurance in the Petroleum Downstream Sector, in accordance with the contractual agreements executed with the GRA. Relevant reports and technical documentation covering the work done are available and may be reviewed upon request."

According to reports, this letter led to Freeman Sarbah's arrest by the OSP. Following the arrest of the Acting Director of Legal, the Commissioner-General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, and two other top officials have reportedly been summoned by the OSP.

According to a report by citinewsroom.com, Anthony Sarpong and the other top officials allegedly ordered their Head of Legal to issue the letter.

This is not the first time Anthony Sarpong has been invited by the OSP over the SML deal, even though the contract was signed and executed by his predecessors. But why would the OSP invite the new GRA boss to answer questions on a deal he was not a party to?

The KPMG linkage:

Well, the new GRA boss knows more about the SML deal than one would think.

It can be recalled that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo contracted KPMG to look into the SML–GRA contract after reports emerged that the company had been paid for no work done.

Anthony Kwasi Sarpong was a Senior Partner at KPMG when the company was contracted to look into the SML–GRA contract. It is expected that he will sign off on the final report for the deal. In fact, his details were shared in the KPMG report on the SML deal.

SML Scandal: OSP summons GRA boss, other top officials

The KPMG audit found that SML received close to GH¢1.5 billion in payments, not GH¢1 billion as the presidency had indicated at the time. It also concluded that GRA revenue collection increased at that time due to tax revenue, not SML's work.

The report also indicated that SML flowmeters never worked and that the company didn’t pay taxes on its fees from GRA. The report also stated that the Ministry of Finance deliberately refused to conduct a value-for-money evaluation.

Following the release of the KPMG report, the then-President suspended the SML–GRA contract.

What the OSP has said about the KPMG report:

A reason the OSP might be inviting the GRA boss for questioning is the office's view on the KPMG report.

The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, at a recent press briefing, noted that his office disagreed with the conclusion drawn in the KPMG report.

“While the OSP’s preliminary findings accorded with the major factual findings in the KPMG report, the OSP found itself unable to agree with some major conclusions drawn by KPMG, especially in respect of accountability and value-for-money,” he said.

KPMG, after its audit, presented a report that reviewed “the work and activities of SML in relation to the contracts with the state and assessing the propriety of procurement and contracting processes as well as the appropriateness of cost value analysis in the performance of the contracts.”

The OSP investigation, on the other hand, looked beyond the mere appropriateness of the SML–GRA contract. It looked into the criminal culpability or otherwise of implicated persons, which is wider in scope and outlook than the audit work of KPMG.

It, therefore, should not be surprising that the OSP would be inviting the GRA boss, who was one of the top people at KPMG, when it looked into the SML contract.

BAI/SEA

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