The Attorney-General’s Department has filed criminal charges against two former top officials of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), alleging their involvement in the unauthorized disbursement of $2 million for the failed Accra SkyTrain project.
The former Chief Executive Officer of GIIF, Solomon Asamoah, and the Fund’s former Board Chair, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, are standing trial in the High Court in Accra.
The charges, filed under Case No. CR/0448/2025, include multiple counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, willfully causing financial loss to the Republic, and intentional misuse of public funds.
According to court documents, the charges stem from a payment made in February 2019 to Africa Investor Holdings Limited, ostensibly as part of a proposed investment in the SkyTrain urban transit initiative. Prosecutors argue that the payment was made without proper board authorization or due diligence, breaching internal protocols of the Fund.
The charge sheet indicates that the two men are jointly accused of conspiring to cause financial loss and dissipate public funds. Individually, they are also charged with authorizing the $2 million transfer without requisite oversight or accountability, leading to what prosecutors describe as a significant financial loss to the state.
Though Mr. Asamoah reportedly told investigators that the GIIF board had approved the transaction, this claim has been refuted by other board members and contradicted by the absence of official records. Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi, on his part, has said he signed the disbursement based on Mr. Asamoah’s recommendation.
Investigators say the SkyTrain project, originally introduced as a public-private partnership to revolutionize Accra’s urban transportation, never materialized. No construction took place, and the government has not recovered the funds disbursed.
The prosecution contends that the actions of the two former officials violated key legal provisions, including Section 179A(3)(a) of the Criminal Offences Act, which addresses willful financial loss to the state, and Section 1(1) of the Public Property Protection Decree, which criminalizes the misuse of public funds.
The Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, maintains that the accused acted outside the scope of their authority, causing unjustified damage to public finances. He also noted that some members of the GIIF board have agreed to testify for the prosecution.
Background
The idea of a SkyTrain system for Accra was first introduced with much fanfare as part of a modern urban transport vision. In November 2018, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Railways Development, GIIF, and Africa Investor Holdings Ltd (AIH), a South African-registered company, to explore the project.
Under the MoU, GIIF was expected to serve as an anchor investor and conduct comprehensive due diligence and feasibility studies.
Following the MoU, a shareholders’ agreement was executed in January 2019, where AIH was to transfer 10% of its shares in Ai SkyTrain Consortium Holdings to GIIF for $2 million.
The fund transfer was made in February 2019 to AIH’s account in Mauritius—without the mandatory internal investment assessments and board approval, according to the Attorney General.
