There are two fugitives in the SML case, but only one is popular

In the ongoing high-profile case in Ghana, the corruption and corruption related matter involving the company, Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), there are two suspects on the run and have been declared wanted. Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Darko Akore. But Ofori-Atta is the most popular of the two fugitives. He is popular because he served as Minister of Finance of Ghana for about seven years. He was sworn into office on January 27, 2017 and served up to 2024.

Ofori-Atta and Akore have been charged in court, and they face 78 corruption related charges. The two have been charged with six others.

Ofori-Atta is currently in detention in the US. He is being held on account of immigration issues.

But who is Ernest Darko Akore?

There is very scanty publicly available information about Ernest Darko Akore. But Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the law enforcement agency prosecuting the SML case describes him as a 67-year-old man, born on February 5, 1958. He is believed to hold dual-nationality of Ghana and the US. He is also believed to have held a US passport in previous years. While on the run, investigators say they have no idea where he is hiding. They suspect he may be hiding in the US, UK, Hong Kong or South Africa.

He is connected to the case because while Ofori-Atta was Minister of Finance, he was his Chef de Cabinet or Technical Advisor.

On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the OSP, declared Akore wanted in pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the High Court-Criminal Division under suit number CR/0397/2025, in the case of the Republic v Ernest D. Akore.

While it is not yet known where Akore is hiding, in December 2025, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, announced that Ghana had formally submitted a request to the United States authorities for the extradition of both Ofori Atta and Akore, to face charges in Ghana.

Akore has been described elsewhere as a highly accomplished banking executive. He is reputed to have expertise spanning multiple industries across domestic and international markets. He is also known to blend banking and finance leadership backed by superior results in service delivery, business development, marketing, operations and human capital development. According to some accounts he has a proven record in leading bank restructuring and reorganization in challenging settings and coordinates effectively with cross functional teams for attainment of company goals.

Education

He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Whittier College, California and an MBA from the Graduate School of Management, United States International University in San Diego, California.

Other work history and positions held

Ernest Akore served on the Board of the Ghana Revenue Authority on the HR and Legal Committee and was a Board member of the Ghana Exim Bank. 

He has also held other roles as non-Executive Director of Joissam Ghana Limited, Achimota School Endowment Trust Fund and the defunct Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone). He also served on the Advisory Board of the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Legon.

He started his banking career as a management trainee with the Bank of America, from where he took a middle management position with Wells Fargo Bank in California and worked for eleven years.

In 2001, he took up the position of Chief Operating Officer of the then distressed Trust Bank Limited in The Gambia, from where he relocated to Ghana in 2004 and joined Databank Financial Services Limited as the Executive Director of the company’s newly constituted Retail Services Unit.

In 2014 he resigned from Databank to set up his own Consultancy. He later worked with the Women’s World Banking Ghana Limited as the Lead Consultant in the restructuring of that company before joining the Ministry of Finance.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi