Former COCOBOD Director’s ‘Secret’ Properties Exposed

The Archives’ diggings into the current financial challenges of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have uncovered what appear to be extensive hidden property acquisitions allegedly linked to a former top official of the institution.

The investigation reveals that a former director, who occupied a highly sensitive position at COCOBOD (name withheld), is alleged to have used physical cash, mostly in US dollars to acquire several high-value properties, to evade mandatory tax payments to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The transactions are said to have taken place in 2024, just months before the general elections, at a time when the cedi was rapidly depreciating against the US dollar.

The Archives has gathered, none of the properties were registered in the official’s personal name. Instead, proxy and pseudo entities, including P&O Makos and Gooseberry Enterprise Ltd, were allegedly used to conceal ownership.

Checks conducted at the Registrar General’s Department also showed no records of these companies.

Several of the properties traced to the former official are located in prime residential areas in and outside Accra, including North-Labone, East Cantonment, and Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

List of Properties

Among the properties allegedly acquired include:

Six-unit townhouse complex (H/No. 89), North-Labone (Red House) where each unit was allegedly purchased for USD 600,000, and paid in cash.

Six-unit townhouse complex (Apartments 7–12), East Cantonment (Red House 2)

Located at No. 29 East Cantonment and acquired from a certain company, the property was allegedly purchased for USD 1.08 million, also paid in cash.

IHUB Mixed-Use Development Investment: Using Gooseberry Enterprise Ltd as a proxy, an agreement valued at USD 3 million was allegedly signed, with an initial payment of USD 200,000 made.

Another property traced to the official is a luxury vacation home in Koforidua, with alleged payments exceeding USD 900,000.

Sources indicate that, some of these payments—amounting to as much as USD 1.08 million were allegedly made in physical cash at night, in certain instances in the presence of the official’s lawyers.

Tax Evasion

Insiders told this paper that mandatory taxes related to these transactions were allegedly not paid to the Ghana Revenue Authority, a claim if confirmed, could constitute serious breaches of Ghana’s tax and anti-money laundering laws.

When The Archives commenced investigations into the activities of this director in 2024, the reporter was met with legal threats from the official’s lawyers.

It remains unclear, whether the current administration under President John Dramani Mahama, or the new COCOBOD management led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Ransford Annetey Abbey, popularly known as Randy Abbey, is aware of these developments and why investigations into the activities of some immediate past directors have not been pursued.

COCOBOD’s Financial Distress

COCOBOD is currently facing severe financial distress and has been unable to pay for cocoa purchased from farmers, largely due to a breakdown in its traditional financing model, accumulated debt from undelivered cocoa contracts, and sharp shifts in global cocoa prices.

According to Dr Abbey, COCOBOD’s financial position deteriorated significantly in 2022 when the institution announced it could no longer service its short-term Cocoa Bills—debt instruments issued to raise funds from institutions and individuals.

The Cocoa Bills were subsequently restructured, resulting in haircuts for investors and deferred repayments. Under the restructuring arrangement, the first repayment is due in September 2025, with funds expected to be lodged by August 2025.

Dr Abbey noted that the restructuring signalled financial distress to the market, severely undermining confidence in COCOBOD’s ability to meet its future obligations.

More To Come…