The Commissioner of Customs Division has been instructed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to immediately stop all auction sales.
The directive is in effect up until the conclusion of an ongoing investigation into allegations of fraud in auction activities at the Customs Division.
“The Special Prosecutor further directed the Commissioner of the Customs Division to immediately halt and discontinue all auction sales until the investigation is concluded,” the OSP said in a press statement issued on Monday, August 22.
The OSP has started an investigation into what is happening at the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division (GRA).
The inquiry is centered on operations within the Division related to and involving corruption, including the sale of goods and vehicles at auction.
Inquiry period runs from July 1, 2016, through August 15, 2022.
In relation to the auction sales of vehicles and other products by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority between July 1, 2016, and August 15, 2022, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has started an investigation into possible corruption and offenses related to corruption.
Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, has asked the GRA’s Customs Division to provide his office with records pertaining to all judgments and benchmark values used going back to 2017.
According to OSP’s findings, the Labianca Group of Companies and the Customs Division were allegedly involved in corrupt actions.
The report came to the conclusion that the company’s owner, Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh, had abused her power as a former board member of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to obtain favors.
The Special Prosecutor obtained 1.074 million from the business whose owner is also a Council of State member.
