Ghana investigates alleged forgery of Energy Minister’s signature by Canadian firm

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Created on Thursday, 17 April 2014 08:37

The Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO) has begun investigations into how the Energy Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah's signature was allegedly forged by a Canadian oil exploration firm.

The firm allegedly forged the minister’s signature to lay claim over a piece of oil rich area, offshore, South of the Cape Three Points in the Western Region.

The Energy Ministry referred the matter to EOCO last week.

Joy News' Evans Mensah reports that the oil firm, Gondwana Oil Corporation recently used the forged letter to support its listing on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

Its Ghanaian subsidiary, Miura Petroleum Limited, is also reported to have made an estimated $1.5 million dollars using the forged letter as a basis to sell off majority stake in the oil rich area.

Gondwana, the Canadian company, had written to its shareholders on March 18, this year announcing that Ghana's energy ministry had agreed to a deal that would allow its subsidiary, Miura Petroleum, to negotiate exclusively over the oil rich block south of the Cape Three Points.

The announcement was part of a letter dated September 4, 2013 that had the signature of the Energy Minister, and printed on the Ministry's official letterhead.

That letter said in part that: "We write to confirm the allocation of a license block to Muira Petroleum Limited to enable the company to access our geological petroleum data base and subsequently to undertake exploration activity."

But the Ministry in statement categorically denied that, that letter was ever written.

"The company, therefore, forged the Honourable Minister's signature, the Ministry's letterhead, official stamp and reference number", a statement from the Ministry said.

source: myjoyonline