The Ghana Revenue Authority has uncovered a major financial leakage, revealing that approximately $31 billion left Ghana over five years without matching imports, exposing deep flaws in the country’s import monitoring system. Commissioner-General Anthony Sarpong announced the findings, which indicate that widespread misclassification of goods, undervaluation, and false country-of-origin declarations allowed significant capital to flow out of the country without corresponding taxable imports.
Investigations revealed collusion between shipping line staff, customs officers, and importers, enabling the scheme to persist over an extended period. The discovery has raised serious concerns about pressure on Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves and revenue losses, particularly following a significant customs shortfall in 2025. The $31 billion figure represents a substantial leakage that could have otherwise contributed to government revenues and foreign currency buffers.
In response to the findings, the GRA has introduced a series of reforms aimed at restoring integrity to the customs system. The centrepiece of these reforms is Publican, an artificial intelligence-powered platform that monitors import declarations in real time, flags suspicious transactions, and compares data against global benchmarks. The system is designed to identify anomalies that human inspectors might miss, reducing opportunities for collusion and under-declaration.
Officials say the shift to automation will help curb abuses, improve transparency, and restore confidence in Ghana’s trade and revenue systems. The introduction of AI-powered customs monitoring aligns with broader trends across Africa, where governments are increasingly turning to technology to address revenue leakage and improve tax compliance. For importers and freight forwarders, the new system means greater scrutiny of declarations, but also potentially faster clearance for compliant traders.
