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The mystery surrounding a missing $2 million intended for Ghana’s Sky Train project deepened on Tuesday as the two former top officials of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) accused of causing the financial loss faced fresh challenges in court.
Solomon Asamoah, a former Chief Executive Officer of GIIF, appeared in court under police escort after failing to meet bail conditions set at the last hearing. His co-accused, former GIIF Board Chair Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, was absent for the second consecutive time—his lawyer informing the Accra High Court that the professor had been hospitalised earlier that morning.
Presiding judge Justice Comfort Kwasiwor Tasiame adjourned the case to May 26, 2025, after hearing that Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi is expected to be discharged by Monday. Asamoah, who pleaded not guilty to six counts, including conspiracy to commit crime, willfully causing financial loss to the state, and intentional dissipation of public funds, remains in police custody.
At the heart of the case is a $2 million payment made in 2019 from GIIF’s project development account to Africa Investor Holdings Limited, a foreign company, without the knowledge or approval of the GIIF board. According to the prosecution, the money was transferred under the guise of acquiring shares in the Ai SkyTrain Consortium Holdings—an entity based in Mauritius—yet no shares were ever issued and no returns have been accounted for.
The Sky Train project, touted as a major public-private infrastructure breakthrough, was expected to be delivered under a design, finance, build, and operate model. GIIF was to serve as the anchor local equity investor in partnership with Africa Investor Holdings, incorporated in South Africa and later Seychelles. A shareholders’ agreement signed in January 2019 committed GIIF to acquiring a 10% stake in the Mauritius-based consortium.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, told the court that just weeks after the agreement, the foreign partner requested a lump-sum payment of $2 million. On February 25, 2019, Asamoah and Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi jointly authorised the transfer of the funds from GIIF’s account at the United Bank for Africa to the Mauritius-based company.
“No share certificates were issued, no formal acknowledgements made, and nothing has been heard from the foreign company or the accused since the funds were transferred,” Dr Srem-Sai said.
Prosecutors further stated that GIIF’s internal policy required due diligence, feasibility studies, investment committee assessments, and board approval prior to any financial commitment. Investigations revealed that none of these steps were followed before the $2 million payment.
Asamoah, in his police caution statement, claimed the board had approved the transaction. However, this was denied by all other board members in their respective statements, and no board minutes or company records support his claim. Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi, on the other hand, stated that he co-signed the payment on the advice of Asamoah.
“To date, neither of the accused persons has been able to account for the $2 million,” Dr Srem-Sai added.
The court will reconvene on May 26 to determine the next steps in what is shaping up to be one of the country’s most high-profile public finance trials in recent years.