Office of the Special Prosecutor

OSP Special Agent Badge
Abbreviation	OSP
Formation	2018
Legal status	Active
Purpose	Law Enforcement Agency
Headquarters	6 Haile Selasie Avenue, South Ridge, Accra
Region	Ghana
Special Prosecutor	Kissi Agyebeng
Predecessor	Martin Amidu
Deputy Special Prosecutor	Cynthia Lamptey
Divisions	Investigations, Prosecution, Assets Recovery & Management, Strategy,Research &Communications, Operations, Finance, Human Resource & Administration.
Website	https://osp.gov.gh

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is a specialised independent anti-corruption agency established by an act of the Parliament of Ghana to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption and corruption related offences. It is also responsible for recovering proceeds of corruption and take steps to prevent it.

The OSP is the premier enforcer of Ghana's anti-corruption laws, and it is the only state agency empowered to carry out criminal prosecution of corruption and corruption related offences.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is an independent specialised agency responsible for performing four (4) main functions.

I. The OSP is tasked with investigating specific cases of alleged or suspected corruption or corruption-related offences involving public officers and persons who have been entrusted with prominent public functions in Ghana or a foreign country or an international organization such as senior political party officials, government officials, judicial officials, military officials, a person who is or has been an executive in a foreign country of a state-owned company, a senior political party official in a foreign country, and an immediate family member or close associate of such a person, as well as persons in the private sector involved in the commission of such offences.

II. The OSP is mandated to prosecute offenders involved in the commission of corruption and corruption-related offences on the authority of the Attorney-General.

NB:The AG/MoJ is the principal legal adviser to the Government. It is responsible for the initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offences, with the exception that the OSP’s prosecutorial power, though derived from that of the AG/MoJ, is secured by law and it is exercised without specific reference to the AG/MoJ.

III. The OSP is empowered to recover the proceeds of corruption and corruption-related offences.

IV. The OSP is required to stake steps to prevent corruption.

The multi-faceted mandate of the OSP set it out as a unique and specialised public institution performing

• Police functions
• Investigation functions
• National security and Intelligence functions
• Revenue generation functions

The primary objective of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is to:

• Investigate and prosecute specific instances of alleged or suspected corruption and corruption-related offences.
• Recover assets and proceeds derived from corruption.

• Implement measures to prevent corruption across both public and private sectors.

To establish a society where corruption is prohibitively costly and decisively unattractive, fostering a culture of integrity and accountability in both public and private spheres through sustained and effective repression.

To combat corruption by:

• Conducting thorough investigations into specific cases of alleged or suspected corruption and corruption-related offences.
• Prosecuting offenders to ensure accountability and justice.
• Recovering proceeds acquired through corrupt practices to restore public trust and resources
• Implementing proactive strategies and preventive measures to curtail corruption at its roots.

Pursuant to Section 5(1), the Governing Body of the Office is constituted as follows:

• The Special Prosecutor
• The Deputy Special Prosecutor
• A representative of the Audit Service: Not below the rank of Director, nominated by the Auditor-General.
• A representative of the Ghana Police Service A representative of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO)
• A representative of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)
• A representative of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)
• An individual with expertise in intelligence: Nominated by the Minister responsible for National Security.
• A female representative from Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations

This structure ensures a diverse and multidisciplinary approach to governance, leveraging expertise from various sectors.

• 2021–present: Kissi Agyebeng – Special Prosecutor^[1]
• 2018–2020: Martin Amidu – former Special Prosecutor

• Investigations Division
  • Mr. Emmanuel Basintale Amadu
• Prosecutions Division
  • Isidore Kwadwo Tufuor Ph. D.
• Assets Recovery & Management Division
  • Mr. Albert Akurugu
• Strategy, Research & Communication Division
  • Mr. Samuel Appiah Darko
• Operations Division
• Finance Division
• Human Resource and Administration Division
  • Ms. Boakyewaa Glover

• Law enforcement in Ghana
• Corruption in Ghana

• Official website