In a stinging rebuke to the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the High Court has issued an interim injunction barring the state anti-corruption agency from declaring or maintaining the directors of Sesi-Edem Company Limited as “wanted persons” over a gold supply contract that has not yet breached its delivery deadline.
The order, issued April 14, 2026, restrains EOCO, its officers and any agents from inviting, detaining, arresting, charging or otherwise interfering with the company or its directors in connection with the transaction. The court further blocked EOCO from continuing any purported investigation founded on the same matter.
The ruling marks the latest chapter in an increasingly fractious legal battle between the investigative body and the gold trading firm. The dispute traces to November 2025, when JG Resources Ltd petitioned EOCO, claiming that only part of the gold it had contracted to purchase from Sesi-Edem had been delivered. Missing from that petition, the court later noted, was a critical detail: The contractual delivery deadline is June 2026.
Despite EOCO’s own admission of that deadline in open court, the agency proceeded to freeze the company’s accounts and investigate allegations of defrauding by false pretenses and money laundering.
In a March 19, 2026 ruling, the High Court held that the facts disclosed no basis for fraud or money laundering charges, citing licensing records from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ghana Gold Board. The court ordered the accounts defrozen and found that EOCO had acted outside its statutory mandate, violating the company’s constitutional right to administrative justice.
That ruling came in proceedings that EOCO itself had initiated, seeking confirmation of its administrative freezing orders. The same court revoked its earlier confirmation, determining the agency lacked statutory authority to investigate the matter.
Yet on March 30, 2026, EOCO issued a public media release declaring the directors of Sesi-Edem as “wanted persons” and announcing its intention to press forward with investigations.
The company immediately returned to court. The High Court has now directed EOCO to cease maintaining the wanted declaration and to take no further steps relying on that position until the substantive application is determined. Court bailiffs have served the order, placing the agency’s board and management fully on notice.
“Sesi-Edem Company Limited reiterates that neither it nor its directors have engaged in any criminal conduct, and that the transaction in question remains a contractual matter governed by its agreed terms,” the company said in a statement issued through its legal representatives, Knightscild Chambers. “The company will continue to take all appropriate steps to protect its rights and to ensure that the authority of the court is respected.”
The case underscores growing judicial scrutiny of EOCO’s investigative reach and raises fresh questions about the agency’s adherence to court orders. The substantive application remains pending.
By Kingsley Asiedu
