Accra: The Herald has obtained details of the company behind the 12 articulated trucks carrying 44,055 packages of edible cooking oil, tomato paste, and spaghetti, which the Ministry of Finance said attempted to evade taxes worth over GHS85 million. One of the documents identified MAN-GOO LIMITED, located at Sakumono, Accra, Ghana, as the importer behind the 12 trucks. They had lied about the number of trucks to carry their goods to Niger.
According to Ghana Web, official correspondence revealed that the company sought permission to move the goods in transit from Togo through Ghana to Niger under Bill of Entry number 81225872581, dated December 30, 2025, but was denied. Despite the denial, MAN-GOO LIMITED disregarded orders until the goods were impounded. A letter from January 8, 2026, from Aaron Kanor, the recently appointed Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), rejected the company's application for a Customs escort. The application had requested approval to move 10 articulated trucks from Togo via the Akanu border post in the Volta Region to Kulungugu en route to Niger.
The letter listed the trucks' registration numbers and sought official clearance for the transit movement. Interestingly, although 18 articulated trucks were said to have been involved, the letter mentioned that MAN-GOO LIMITED sought permission for only 10 trucks. Kanor, in his reply, directed the company to re-export the goods back to Togo and copied the Sector Commander, Aflao, and the Officer-in-Charge at Akanu.
Despite the rejection, the director of MAN-GOO LIMITED dispatched the trucks through Ghana 41 days later. A specialised enforcement team from the Customs Division of the GRA intercepted 12 of the articulated trucks during an overnight operation along the Dawhenya-Tema Road. The remaining six were subsequently traced. The operation, conducted on February 18, 2026, was led by the Deputy Commissioner (Operations), with support from the Chief Revenue Officer (Preventive, Tema Collection), the Revenue Mobilisation Taskforce of National Security, and enforcement officers from the Tema Collection and Customs Headquarters.
MAN-GOO LIMITED is yet to speak on the matter, despite threats from the Ministry of Finance that the impounded goods will be sold at auction in accordance with relevant laws. The statement suggested that, had the scheme succeeded, the state could have incurred revenue losses of GHS82,682,952.
The scandal has triggered changes within the GRA. The Authority confirmed that President John Dramani Mahama had appointed Aaron Kanor as Acting Commissioner of the Customs Division, following the removal of Brigadier General Glover Ashong Annan. Kanor is said to bring more than three decades of experience in revenue mobilisation, border security, and trade facilitation.
Ghana Link Network Services Limited, operators of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), has stated that all 18 transit trucks captured under Bill of Entry (BOE) 80226125039 have been accounted for on its electronic tracking platform. The company clarified that the six trucks previously reported as missing were not unaccounted for in its system.
The Minister for Finance, Dr Ato Forson, has directed the GRA to conduct comprehensive investigations into the matter. Disciplinary action will be initiated against any Customs officers found culpable. Criminal investigations will also extend to importers and clearing agents where evidence supports prosecution. The impounded goods will be sold at auction in accordance with relevant laws.
In response to this incident and the abuse of transit operations, the Finance Minister has directed the GRA to implement immediate measures, including prohibiting all land transit of cooking oil and routing such consignments exclusively through Ghana's seaports. Enhanced monitoring, tracking, and strict compliance enforcement will be applied to safeguard state revenue.