The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has escalated its pursuit of Dr Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple, declaring the Volta Region representative on the Council of State a fugitive from justice and deploying its Surveillance and Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) to locate and arrest him.
The April 9 declaration marks a significant hardening of EOCO’s position toward Dr Kwamigah-Atokple, who was first named a person of interest in March 2026 in connection with an alleged gold fraud involving his company, SESI-EDEM Company Limited. The alleged fraud, which prompted three separate petitions to EOCO, centres on accusations that SESI-EDEM failed to supply 50 kilograms of gold valued at GH¢57,759,594.68 despite receiving payment from petitioners J.G Resources Limited and Unigold Trading LLC.
EOCO said Dr Kwamigah-Atokple is believed to be hiding in the Volta Region and called on the public to report any information on his whereabouts. The agency accused the directors of SESI-EDEM Company Limited of actively attempting to obstruct investigations through what it described as political, traditional, and media campaigns rather than submitting to the inquiry.
“No one is above the law and the fugitive will be brought before the law,” EOCO stated.
The development comes amid a public dispute with the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, which issued a statement accusing EOCO of harassing Dr Kwamigah-Atokple and defying a High Court ruling in its handling of the case. EOCO rejected that characterisation, insisting that its conduct falls fully within its legal mandate and that the court decision in question did not override its authority to investigate.
The case has been under investigation since November 2025, when EOCO formally invited Dr Kwamigah-Atokple to assist with inquiries. He reportedly failed to honour the invitation. Preliminary investigations led to the freezing of SESI-EDEM’s bank account in January 2026, a decision the company challenged in court the following month.
EOCO clarified that neither Dr Kwamigah-Atokple nor his company has yet been formally charged before any court, stressing that the matter remains under active investigation under the Economic and Organised Crime Act, 2010 (Act 804), the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).
