Kpebu says ORAL did not agree on $21.19bn state asset recovery estimate

A former member of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee, Martin Kpebu, has disputed claims by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that the government could recover up to $21.19 billion from stolen state assets.

Mr Kpebu said the figure cited by Mr Ablakwa was his personal assessment and did not represent an amount collectively established or agreed upon by members of the ORAL Committee, which Mr Ablakwa chaired.

Speaking in a follow-up interview on Joy FM’s SMS on Wednesday, November 4, Mr Kpebu maintained that the committee did not conduct an assessment that established the potential recovery figure of $21.19 billion.

He stressed that members of the committee had not reached any agreement on the amount announced by the Foreign Affairs Minister.

“Let us remember that the comment that was made (by Mr Ablakwa) was a personal comment, it was not by the committee, it was one of our members who made the comment and I didn't endorse it neither any of our member endorsed it,” he said.

“It is not a collective decision. He (Mr Ablakwa) said 'if we are successful', so it is a conditional clause,” he argued.

His comments follow Mr Ablakwa’s revelation in February 2025 that the government could potentially recover $21.19 billion after reviewing 36 major cases involving high-value transactions and alleged losses of state assets through land-related dealings.

Mr Ablakwa said the estimated amount could exceed the financial support Ghana had been seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Watch the minister when he made the comment last year in the video below.