Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, has ordered a sweeping crackdown on customs officers, importers, and clearing agents following the exposure of a massive transit diversion scheme that has cost the state more than ₵85 million in lost revenue.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr. Forson disclosed that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), through its Customs Division, intercepted 18 articulated trucks falsely declared as transit cargo to Niger, but moving without the mandatory customs escorts.
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According to him, the trucks were released from the Akanu Border Post to travel along the eastern corridor and exit Ghana at Kulungugu, with cargo declared as more than 44,000 packages weighing about 880,000 kilograms.
Mr. Forson said twelve of the trucks have so far been impounded, with eleven secured at the Tema Transit Yard for further inspection and legal processing.
One of the vehicles reportedly overturned while attempting to evade interception, spilling its cargo, while six others remain at large and are being actively pursued by authorities.
Initial suspended duties and taxes were assessed at about ₵2.6 million. However, further inspections uncovered what the minister described as “material discrepancies” in declared values, tariff classifications, and weights.
These irregularities, he said, pushed the revised revenue exposure to approximately ₵85.3 million.
“Preliminary findings point to systemic control weaknesses and human complicity,” Mr. Forson stated, adding that he had directed the GRA to begin comprehensive investigations immediately.
He warned that any customs officer found culpable would face swift disciplinary action in line with the law, while importers and clearing agents implicated in the scheme could face criminal prosecution.
As part of urgent corrective measures, the Finance Minister announced a ban on all land transit of cooking oil, directing that such consignments must now pass exclusively through Ghana’s seaports.
He added that transactions originating from land collection points would now be subjected to enhanced monitoring and real-time tracking.
Mr. Forson stressed that the government remains committed to protecting domestic revenue and local industry, insisting that abuse of the transit regime would no longer be tolerated.
“Every cedi matters in our collective effort to fund national priorities,” he declared.