Lawyer of Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Chief Executive Officer of Jospong Group of Companies, has written to The Herald protesting the mention of his name as part of an audit query at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) raised by personnel of the Ghana Audit Service, which the previous management, led by Joseph Boahen Aidoo, had refused to respond to.
The lawyers, Kwame Gyan & Associates, distanced Mr Agyepong from the dealings at the Board, saying “Our Client states that neither he nor his affiliate companies were beneficiaries of contracts under the erstwhile COCOBOD Administration and are not under any criminal investigation.”
In a letter dated 4th March 2026, Richard Bobison Jnr contended that “The story was centred mainly on a contract purported to have been awarded by the previous COCOBOD administration headed by Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo. It is rather unfortunate that your reporter’s purported investigations, framed within allegations of audit infractions and possible criminal prosecution, sought to portray our Client as complicit in financial irregularities, thereby gravely impugning his credibility and hard-won reputation”.
Mr Siaw Agyepong’s lawyers are demanding the immediate retraction of the publication which mentioned his name in connection with audit queries raised at COCOBOD.
The protest follows a report by The Herald indicating that some procurement transactions undertaken under the previous COCOBOD management had attracted audit queries from the Ghana Audit Service, but that officials of the former administration, led by Mr Boahen Aidoo, had failed to respond.
In a letter dated March 4, 2026, and signed by Mr Bobison Jnr, the solicitors distanced their client from any dealings with the Board, insisting that neither he nor any of his 40 companies had benefited from contracts awarded by the former COCOBOD administration.
“Our Client states that neither he nor his affiliate companies were beneficiaries of contracts under the erstwhile COCOBOD Administration and are not under any criminal investigation,” the letter stated.
The lawyers argued that the publication, which centred on a contract purportedly awarded by the previous COCOBOD administration headed by Mr Boahen Aidoo, unfairly portrayed their client as being involved in financial irregularities.
“It is rather unfortunate that your reporter’s purported investigations, framed within allegations of audit infractions and possible criminal prosecution, sought to portray our Client as complicit in financial irregularities, thereby gravely impugning his credibility and hard-won reputation,” the letter added.
The lawyers further objected to a section of the story which stated that some procurement deals were awarded to Dr Agyepong, describing the claim as false and defamatory.
They also criticised the use of their client’s photograph alongside the story, arguing that it created the impression that he was implicated in criminal wrongdoing that had occasioned financial loss to the State.
According to the law firm, the publication suggested that their client had committed a crime that could result in imprisonment or a fine, thereby damaging his reputation both locally and internationally.
The solicitors have therefore demanded that The Herald immediately remove the article from its website and other digital platforms, and publish a full and unqualified retraction and apology within three days.
They warned that failure to comply would compel their client to initiate legal proceedings to vindicate his reputation.
Dr Agyepong had earlier reached out and denied any involvement in the procurement of jute sacks for COCOBOD during a telephone conversation with The Herald.
He said he had had no dealings with COCOBOD for the past 25 years, including the supply of jute sacks used to bag cocoa beans.
His response came after he had been linked to a jute sack supply contract reportedly valued at US$48 million.
Dr Agyepong requested a thorough investigation into COCOBOD’s records to determine whether he had engaged in any such dealings.
He also stated that he had not been contacted nor received any written communication regarding any investigation linked to the audit queries raised by the Ghana Audit Service following its examination of the Board’s accounts relating to transactions undertaken during Mr Boahen Aidoo’s tenure.
The audit reportedly examined liabilities estimated at about GH¢32.9 billion left behind by the immediate past management.
Sources within COCOBOD indicate that auditors’ attempts to obtain responses from members of the former administration have been unsuccessful, prompting the current management to refer some of the alleged infractions to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for criminal investigation and possible prosecution.
Mr Agyepong, who was mentioned in connection with the supply of jute sacks, told The Herald that although he owns a jute sack factory, the facility has remained idle and is not currently in production.
The current Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr Randy Abbey, has been explaining the circumstances surrounding the controversial US$48 million jute sack contract.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, June 5, 2025, Dr Abbey expressed concern about the previous administration’s decision to issue an irrevocable letter of credit for the contract in December 2024, despite more than 110,000 bales of unused jute sacks already in stock.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the jute sacks,” he told host George Wiafe, noting that documents indicated that large quantities had remained uncleared for about three years.
Despite the existing stockpile, COCOBOD still awarded another contract for 80,000 bales, valued at US$48 million.
“They issued an irrevocable letter of credit in December 2024 on our account at the Ghana International Bank in London,” Dr Abbey explained, but failed to give out the name of the suppliers.
According to him, once bills of lading are presented under the terms of the irrevocable letter of credit, payment of the US$48 million must be effected.
“That is how this place was run,” he remarked.
Dr Abbey also disclosed that COCOBOD currently owes agrochemical suppliers more than US$400 million, with the Board’s total debt estimated at close to GH¢33 billion.
He clarified, however, that widespread claims that the GH¢21 billion Cocoa Roads project formed part of the debt were inaccurate.
“It is only GH¢4.4 billion, which represents certificates that have been raised and are currently sitting at our cash office,” he said.
The amount, he explained, relates to road construction works that have already been executed and certified for payment, while other contracts have either not yet reached the certification stage or have not yet been undertaken.
The Herald had earlier reported that former COCOBOD managers were facing increasing scrutiny after failing to respond to a series of audit queries raised by the Ghana Audit Service since last year.
Sources within the current administration say the former officials declined to provide explanations regarding procurement and financial management decisions taken under the previous leadership, which reportedly left liabilities of about GH¢32.91 billion when it exited office in January 2025.
The failure to respond to the queries has led the present management, headed by Dr Abbey, to refer some of the alleged infractions to EOCO for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The Audit Service is understood to have identified serious irregularities after examining COCOBOD’s accounts, including procurement deals involving farm inputs and equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars during Mr Boahen Aidoo’s tenure.
These reportedly included slashers, pruners, jute sacks, insecticides, fertilisers, solar lanterns, and Wellington boots distributed to cocoa farmers.
However, sources indicate that some items, particularly slashers and pruners, were rejected by farmers, who reportedly preferred to continue using traditional cutlasses, raising questions about whether adequate due diligence was undertaken before the procurement decisions were made.
The current administration has also disclosed that it inherited debts exceeding GH¢32 billion from the previous management.
It is further alleged that although the audit queries were initially raised, little effort was made to compel the former officials to respond before the matter was escalated.
Government officials were reportedly divided over whether to await responses from the individuals concerned or formally capture the issues in the Auditor-General’s report for submission to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament for scrutiny.
Source: theheraldghana.com
