Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has defended the government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), insisting that investigations and prosecutions arising from the initiative are being pursued on the basis of evidence rather than political vendettas.
Dr Ayine said President John Dramani Mahama had repeatedly directed that all ORAL-related investigations and prosecutions must be thorough enough to withstand legal scrutiny and should not create the impression that political opponents were being targeted.
He made the remarks during a Resetting Ghana Citizens Engagement in Bolgatanga last Friday, as President Mahama toured the Upper East Region as part of his Resetting Ghana Agenda.
According to the Attorney-General, his office has completed investigations into 34 cases arising from the report of the ORAL preparatory committee established before the President assumed office on January 7, 2025.
He said the committee conducted preliminary investigations into alleged corruption and submitted its report to the Office of the President in February 2025, after which his office developed 34 dockets.
“A lot of them are being prepared for filing in court,” Dr Ayine said.
He explained that the investigations involved several state institutions and were supported by forensic audits to strengthen the evidence gathered.
The National Cathedral audit, he said, was one example, noting that President Mahama directed the Auditor-General to conduct the exercise, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) subsequently submitting its report.
Dr Ayine maintained that the government’s approach was intended to establish facts rather than target individuals because of their political affiliations.
Attorney-General defends prosecution record
Dr Ayine also rejected claims that ORAL-related cases were being deliberately delayed or were collapsing in court.
He said he had filed five corruption-related cases within his first year in office, describing the evidence supporting the prosecutions as strong.
“The narrative that is going on by the NPP that ORAL is delaying is not true. The evidence is watertight,” he said.
The Attorney-General cited the National Signals Bureau case as an example, pointing to documentary evidence before the court concerning an alleged transfer of GH¢16.5 million in public funds from a public account into a private company account.
He alleged that the funds were subsequently used for private purposes but cautioned that he would not make comments that could prejudice matters currently before the courts.
Dr Ayine argued that the presence of documentary evidence in court demonstrated the prosecution’s effort to establish its cases through verifiable records rather than political accusations.
ORAL investigations extend beyond 34 cases
The Attorney-General further clarified that ORAL was not restricted to the 34 dockets developed from the preparatory committee’s report.
He said his office was pursuing investigations into other matters, including activities involving the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government, which was headed by Dennis Aboagye.
“ORAL is not just about the 34 dockets that have been built. ORAL is also comprehensively pursuing investigations in other matters,” he said.
Dr Ayine expressed confidence that the public would begin to see more results from the initiative as prosecutions progress.
He stressed that President Mahama would not authorise the use of ORAL as a tool to persecute political opponents.
“I want to emphasise the fact that the President, as far as ORAL is concerned, will never approve that in my capacity as Attorney-General, we engage in any persecution of a political opponent,” he said.
According to him, the overarching objective of the initiative is to strengthen accountability and recover public resources allegedly lost through corruption, while ensuring that all investigations and prosecutions follow due legal process.
