The Chief Executive Officer of Goldridge Refinery Ltd, Nana Yaw Duodu, popularly known as Dr. Sledge, has been released from custody by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after satisfying his bail requirements on Monday, September 29.
Duodu is being investigated for alleged corruption and related offences in connection with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), particularly regarding its gold trading programme.
Earlier in February, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng launched an inquiry into suspected corruption involving MIIF’s operations, with a focus on payments and transactions linked to major projects.
Reports allege that Goldridge Refinery failed to honour trade settlements under the Gold for Forex and Gold for Oil initiatives, resulting in state losses of more than $94 million.
MIIF, however, has previously clarified that its internal checks revealed the fund disbursed the cedi equivalent of $30 million to Goldridge in three tranches of $10 million in 2023, describing it as a revolving outlay that generated about $60 million monthly over eleven months.
The Fund also noted that its role in the defunct Gold for Oil programme did not involve direct capital spending. Instead, bulk oil distributors provided funds through the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors to MIIF’s Trade Desk, an arrangement that reportedly produced around $650 million in foreign exchange between February and September 2024 to support fuel imports.
Author: Jasmine Adjei
Development journalist
