By Festus Poquie
A proposed acquisition of International Bank (Liberia) Ltd. could face fresh scrutiny after Ghana’s Audit Service reported that GH¢52.5 billion (roughly US$9–10 billion) in tax revenues moved from Ghana Revenue Authority transit accounts at GCB Bank to unknown destinations during January–October 202.
The West African lender is pushing to takeover IB, which it identified as Liberia third largest bank.
The audit, commissioned Aug. 2020 by then Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta identified large transfers including about GH¢17.5 billion from the GRA direct transit account, GH¢18.9 billion from the VAT indirect transit account and GH¢10.8 billion from the CEPS/GCNet revenue account.
In a Oct. 5, 2020, communication, the Auditor General asked GCB’s managing director to explain why GH¢52.5 billion had been transferred to an “unknown account,” the report shows.
The controversy has become entangled with the planned sale because Ken Ofori Atta — Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2024 and a Databank co-founder — is publicly reported to be a longtime shareholder and director of International Bank (Liberia).
Ofori Atta has longstanding business ties in Liberia and reported connections to former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who helped the bank’s expansion, according to public filings and media reporting.
GCB has denied wrongdoing. Ofori Atta has been the subject of multiple criminal probes in Ghana, including a 78-count indictment related to Strategic Mobilization Limited and allegations around the National Cathedral project and illicit gains from revenue.
Ghanaian authorities have sought his return from the United States to face charges.
Activists renewed calls in February for a probe into the 2020 transfers, and the Auditor General has said the agency will release its report as investigations continue.
