Meet Evans Adusei Jnr, son of timber merchant behind the shady $100m SML-GRA deal

Evans Adusei Jr is named after his father Mr. Evans Adusei, CEO of Evans Timbers and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), the same company fingered outrageous shady deal that entitled SML to over $100 million every year for the next 10 years.

Mr Evans Edusei is timber merchant, but Evans Adusei Jr is a Ghanaian-born American software engineer and CEO of Hello World Organisation.

With his son’s IT background, it now making more sense why a timber merchant will venture into IT business.

Mr Evans Edusei, was first awarded a contract to inspect import data in 2017, with entitlements averaging US$35 million a year.

In 2020, SML’s operations expanded into the petroleum downstream sector through an undisclosed contract, effectively duplicating the functions of both GRA and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). The obscure nature of this arrangement is underscored by the reported annual payment of about US$25 million to SML for its role.

A particularly troubling aspect of this saga is the alleged involvement of an ex-adviser to the Commissioner General of GRA, Christian Tetteh Sottie, who is said to have swiftly transitioned from an advisory role to securing deals from the former employer, GRA and operating as the front of the Finance Minister to lead the revenue assurance business of the new “Private GRA” as Managing Director of SML. This confirmed information raises ethical questions about the integrity of the procurement process.

Meanwhile President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended the period within which KPMG is to complete its audit on the transaction between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) from the initial date of Tuesday, 16th January 2024, to a new date of Friday, 23rd February 2024.

This follows a request made by KPMG to the President, requesting an extension of the two weeks deadline originally given to the company to undertake the assignment.

Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Office of the President, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said, “KPMG is to submit its final report no later than Friday, 23rd February 2024.”

He said President Akufo-Addo had also taken note of the request made by GRA, asking for his permission to allow the monitoring system installed and used by SML to continue, notwithstanding the suspension of its GRA-related operations.