GII reaffirms commitment to fighting corruption
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption through enhanced transparency and accountability with the launch of the Beneficial Ownership Regime Report in Accra.
The report evaluates Ghana’s progress in implementing beneficial ownership disclosure, a crucial measure in combating illicit financial flows and ensuring corporate accountability.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday, GII’s Executive Director, Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, highlighted the country’s efforts over the past five years to strengthen beneficial ownership disclosure, emphasising its role in improving corporate governance and business transparency.
“Beneficial ownership transparency is not just an administrative process; it is a fundamental pillar in the fight against corruption,” she stated. Citing a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, she noted that Africa loses approximately $88.6 billion annually to illicit financial flows—an amount nearly equivalent to the continent’s total official development assistance.
She acknowledged the support of key partners, including Global Financial Integrity (GFI), ISODEC, and NORAC, and stated that while Ghana has made strides in risk assessments, challenges remain in achieving full compliance with international financial regulations.
Director of Inspection and Compliance at the Registrar of Companies, Sandra Korkor Quarcoo, outlined the legal framework for beneficial ownership disclosure and challenges in verifying and sharing ownership data.
She further explained that Ghana incorporated beneficial ownership provisions into Act 990 in 2019, requiring businesses to disclose ownership information during registration and annual filings. However, she noted that verification remains a challenge due to the lack of a real-time system for checking ownership data.
“Although, beneficial ownership data is accessible to the public for a subsidised fee, the manual request process causes delays,” she said. She announced that a new digital system is in development to provide real-time access to beneficial ownership data by the end of the year.
Stephen Azantelo, Director of Anti-Corruption at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), emphasised the importance of beneficial ownership data in corruption investigations.
He cited cases where luxury properties in Accra, owned by shell companies, remain unoccupied yet undergo frequent renovations—suggesting possible money laundering schemes.
“Many corruption cases involve businesses where the true owners are concealed. Access to beneficial ownership data is crucial for tracking illicit financial activities,” he stated.
Presenting the assessment report, Michael Kwame Boadi, GII’s Fundraising Manager, underscored its significance in promoting corporate, natural resource, and professional integrity.
“This initiative, funded by NORAD through Global Financial Integrity, aims to tackle opacity in company ownership, which facilitates crimes like drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and embezzlement,” he explained.
Moreover, he referenced a trade data analysis that exposed a $6 billion discrepancy in gold exports between Ghana and Switzerland from 2013 to 2016. While Swiss records showed $7 billion in gold imports from Ghana, Ghana’s official records accounted for only $3 billion, raising concerns over illicit financial flows.
Mr Boadi traced Ghana’s Beneficial Ownership regime to the 2016 UK Anti-Corruption Summit, where the country committed to establishing an ownership transparency framework. This led to amendments in the Companies Act (2016, revised in 2019 under Act 992) and further regulations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020 (Act 1040) and Insurance Act 2021 (Act 1061).
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
