Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has called for a radical overhaul of the country’s asset declaration system, urging the introduction of tougher laws that allow for asset verification, lifestyle audits, and the seizure of unexplained wealth, even without a criminal conviction.
Speaking at a high-level African Union conference on anti-corruption in Accra, Mr Agyebeng warned that traditional legal frameworks are failing to keep up with the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by perpetrators of grand corruption.
“The law always appears to be a step behind criminal innovation,” he said. “Those who engage in grand corruption possess the means to mount formidable campaigns of misinformation and truth distortion.”
Mr Agyebeng proposed constitutional reforms to empower state institutions to conduct lifestyle audits and recover assets from individuals whose wealth cannot be justified through lawful income. He stressed that waiting for a criminal conviction before confiscating assets often results in justice being delayed or denied.
His comments come amid growing pressure on public officials across the continent to be more transparent about their finances. However, the Special Prosecutor pushed back against calls for asset declarations to be made public, arguing that doing so could put officials at risk.
“I do not and I will not add my voice to calls for the publication of assets for public scrutiny. In our experience, it will be unhelpful and would nearly subject public officers to inordinate public curiosity and the real likelihood of reprisal attacks against their assets,” he noted.
Instead, Mr Agyebeng advocated for a confidential but robust verification system that would ensure accountability without compromising the safety of public servants.
The event, themed “Revitalising the Anti-Corruption Architecture in Africa: Ghana’s Accountability Journey,” brought together senior officials, legal experts, and civil society leaders to discuss new strategies in the fight against corruption.
“Corruption begins where values collapse,” Mr Agyebeng said. “That is why integrity must be designed into our educational system from the basic level through to the tertiary level.”
His remarks underscore a growing concern across Africa that current anti-corruption tools are not equipped to deal with the scale and complexity of illicit wealth accumulation.
