COCOBOD Deputy CEO welcomes OSP probe, denies conflict of interest claims

The Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Administration at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr. Ato Boateng, has welcomed calls for investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over allegations of conflict of interest linked to Atlas Commodities Limited.

The response follows calls by the Minority in Parliament, led by the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, for a full criminal investigation into the operations of Atlas Commodities. The Minority alleged that the company had been operating in warehouses registered under the Produce Buying Company (PBC) without proper authorisation and raised concerns about possible regulatory breaches and conflict of interest.

However, in a document sighted by Citi News on Monday February 23, Mr. Boateng dismissed the claims as false and unfounded.

According to information released in his defence, Mr. Boateng resigned as a director of Atlas Commodities Limited on January 20, 2025, prior to assuming his current role at COCOBOD. He also transferred his shares in the company to Edinam Yao Cofie and George Ofori, who now serve as trustees of a trust set up for that purpose.

The statement further noted that Mr. Boateng duly declared his previous interest in Atlas Commodities in his official Declaration of Assets and Liabilities as required of public officers, lodging the documentation with the Auditor-General.

Clarifying the operational structure within COCOBOD, the statement explained that the Board does not hold shares in PBC and therefore does not influence its management decisions.

It added that the regulation of Licenced Buying Companies is supervised directly by the Deputy Chief Executive for Operations, while grading, sealing and cocoa quality supervision fall under the Deputy Chief Executive for Agronomy and Quality Control.

Distribution and allocation of seed money to Licenced Buying Companies, when applicable, is undertaken by the Research Department under the Deputy Chief Executive for Operations and sanctioned by the COCOBOD Board.

The Deputy Chief Executive for Finance and Administration, the statement stressed, is responsible only for effecting payments after all approval processes by the Chief Executive, the Board and the Deputy Chief Executive for Operations have been completed.

The statement also indicated that for the past two years COCOBOD has not provided seed money to Licenced Buying Companies to purchase cocoa beans. Instead, the companies have had to secure their own buyers or obtain bank financing to fund their purchases.

Based on these facts, the statement maintained that Mr. Boateng has not used his position to influence decisions in favour of Atlas Commodities Limited.

It also questioned why the MP would continue to publicly press the matter after petitioning the OSP and CHRAJ, instead of awaiting the outcome of the investigations.

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