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Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed that Ghana lost over $31 billion to fraudulent import transactions between April 2020 and August 2025.
Presenting the 2026 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, Dr. Forson said investigations uncovered widespread abuse of the import declaration system, which allowed illicit fund transfers abroad disguised as legitimate trade.
He explained that out of over 525,000 transactions processed during the period valued at about $83 billion, only 10,440 were linked to actual imports, representing roughly $52 billion. The remaining $31 billion had no corresponding goods entering the country.
Dr. Forson described the situation as a “massive leakage” that drained Ghana’s foreign reserves, weakened the cedi, and deprived the economy of critical resources for development.
“These leaks breach our reserves, weaken the Ghanaian cedi, and deprive the economy of resources used to build schools and other infrastructure,” he stated.
He added that the government has referred the matter to the Attorney General and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigation, while an inter-agency committee will audit all import-related transfers going forward.
