Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has directed the Auditor-General and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to immediately investigate what he described as “questionable import transactions” amounting to more than $31 billion between 2020 and 2025.
Presenting the 2026 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, November 13, Dr Forson said the government had uncovered major discrepancies in the import declaration system that allowed huge sums of money to be transferred abroad without any corresponding goods entering Ghana.
“Between April 2020 and August 2025, over 525,000 transactions worth $83 billion were processed through import declaration forms,” he revealed. “Surprisingly, only 10,440 of these transactions were linked to actual imports. About $31 billion in transfers had no goods imported into the country.”
Describing the findings as alarming, the Minister said the irregularities pointed to deliberate exploitation rather than administrative error.
“This is not a clerical error. It is an organized system of exploitation; in fact, organised crime,” he stated. “I am therefore directing the Auditor-General to audit these transactions immediately, and the Bank of Ghana to trace all related foreign transfers.”
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Dr Forson added that the Finance Ministry had already shared its preliminary findings with the Attorney-General’s Department and relevant law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action, including possible prosecutions.
“We cannot allow billions of dollars to vanish through import channels while we seek loans to fund development. This investigation will mark the beginning of a new era of transparency,” he emphasized.
He also assured Parliament that the government would tighten oversight at the ports and within the banking system to prevent similar financial leakages.
According to him, the $31 billion irregularity reflects a “sophisticated financial leakage” that has deprived the country of much-needed foreign exchange inflows to support economic growth and stabilize the cedi.
“These findings underscore the urgent need for accountability and reform. The days of untracked capital flight through fraudulent import transactions are over,” he said.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
