SML sues OSP over raid, claims $28m in damages
The company is seeking $28.85 million in special damages and GH₵20 million in general damages, claiming that the seizure of its servers and other equipment led to the “immediate collapse” of a secure communication network
Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited (SML) has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), alleging that a June raid on its offices unlawfully crippled its national petroleum and minerals monitoring operations.
The company is seeking $28.85 million in special damages and GH₵20 million in general damages, claiming that the seizure of its servers and other equipment led to the “immediate collapse” of a secure communication network linking 25 depots to its central data hub.
The writ of summons, filed on 10 November 2025, accuses the OSP of “reckless and unlawful conduct” during a heavily armed search and seizure operation.
According to court filings, OSP officials confiscated 29 items, including seven servers, several laptops, and the company’s proprietary “SML Nova Mineral Analyzer.”
SML argues that this disrupted real-time data flow essential to its revenue assurance work for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The firm said the servers contained custom-built firmware and software that could not be replaced with commercially available components, forcing it to rebuild its systems at enormous cost.
In its statement of claim, SML accused the OSP of failing to use forensic imaging or data cloning — standard investigative techniques that preserve operational continuity — and instead “forcibly uprooting physical hardware.”
The company further alleged that the OSP removed its CCTV systems during the operation to prevent any video evidence of “unprofessional and irregular conduct.”
SML described the raid as “a preconceived plan to inflict operational harm,” claiming it had to spend $28 million to reconstruct its technological infrastructure to restore services to the GRA.
