Court blocks EOCO from enforcing wanted notice against Sesi-Edem directors

A High Court has stepped in to stop the Economic and Organised Crime Office from acting on its public declaration that Dr Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple and other directors of Sesi-Edem Company Limited were wanted persons.

The interim injunction, according to a statement from the company’s lawyers, Knightscild Chambers, also prevents EOCO from continuing with any investigation linked to the disputed gold transaction with JG Resources Ltd while the matter remains before the court.

In practical terms, the order bars the agency from taking steps that could affect the liberty of the directors or disrupt the company’s operations.

The latest ruling grows out of a commercial disagreement that began in November 2025. JG Resources had petitioned EOCO, alleging that only 29 kilograms of gold had been supplied under a 50-kilogram agreement.

Sesi-Edem’s position, however, has been that the contract did not require full delivery until 5 June 2026. The company says that detail was brought to EOCO’s attention and was later acknowledged in affidavits before the court.

Despite that, EOCO treated the matter as a possible case of fraud and money laundering and froze the company’s bank accounts through administrative action.

That earlier step was overturned by the High Court in a ruling delivered on 19 March 2026. In that decision, the court held that EOCO had gone beyond its legal mandate, had breached the company’s right to administrative justice, and had no factual basis for the allegations of defrauding by false pretences or money laundering. The accounts were subsequently ordered to be unfrozen.

The new application arose after EOCO issued a public statement on 30 March 2026 saying it intended to continue investigations and naming the company’s directors, including Dr Kwamigah-Atokple, as wanted persons.

By granting the interim injunction, the court has now effectively frozen any further move by EOCO based on that declaration until the main judicial review application is decided.

Knightscild Chambers says the order has already been served on EOCO and expects the agency’s leadership to comply fully. The firm added that any action taken in breach of the court’s directive could carry legal consequences.

Sesi-Edem continues to insist that the matter is purely contractual, not criminal, and the substantive case is still pending.