US$94 million MIIF gold trade deal probe: OSP searches homes and offices of Dr. Sledge

• Posted on October 29, 2025October 29, 2025
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has searched the residence of the Chief Executive Officer of Goldridge Company Limited, Nana Yaw Duodu, also known as Dr Sledge, at Trassaco in Accra, and the company’s offices at East Legon, also in Accra.

This is part of an ongoing investigation into suspected corruption and related offences connected to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) gold trade programme.

In a statement issued on Wednesday [October 29, 2025], the OSP said the searches were carried out under warrants granted by the High Court in Accra.

The operation, the statement said, was part of efforts to trace and recover assets in a case that allegedly caused a loss of about US$94 million to the State.

According to the OSP, its Asset Recovery and Management Team seized several items during the exercise, including luxury vehicles, jewellery, weapons, and documents related to landed properties.

The investigation is focused on a gold-trading arrangement between MIIF and Goldridge Company Limited, which was introduced to support Ghana’s gold-for-reserves programme and generate additional revenue for the state.

There are suggestions the state may have advanced payments of about US$94 million for gold purchases that were not fully delivered, leading to the OSP’s decision to initiate a corruption probe earlier in 2025.

In September 2025, the OSP confirmed that Nana Yaw Duodu had been invited and later detained after failing to meet bail conditions in connection with the same case.

The office said its investigation has since expanded to cover related transactions, contracts, and property acquisitions tied to the MIIF gold trade initiative. The aim, it said, is to establish whether public funds were misapplied or misappropriated.

While the OSP did not confirm whether any new arrests were made during Wednesday’s searches, it stated that the case remains active and forms part of its broader mandate to recover proceeds of suspected corruption.

The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), established under Act 978 of 2018, manages Ghana’s mineral royalties and investments on behalf of the State. Its gold trade programme was launched to support the government’s gold-for-oil and reserves policy through private-sector partnerships.