National security is pursuing directors of 44 oil marketing companies that have disappeared with nearly GH₵60 million in levies owed to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), now rebranded as Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited (BEST).
These companies collected levies and margins from the sale of petroleum products but failed to remit the funds to BOST.
The Auditor General’s 2023 audited accounts confirmed this, but JoyNews is learning all the companies cannot be traced.
The Chief Executive Officer of BEST, Dr Edwin Provencal, said that national security is tracking down the directors of these companies for possible prosecution.
He explained that when petroleum products are purchased, the BOST margin is supposed to be collected by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and remitted to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) for onward transmission to BOST.
However, these OMCs collected the funds and did not remit them.
“When it goes on for a while, the company is closed down, you can’t find the directors. As we speak, those 44, we are in court with about 26 of them for them to pay the money.
“And then for the rest, the companies are dead. Hopefully, with the power of government, we can raise the veil and go after the directors. We have escalated to [Economic and Organised Crime Office] EOCO, we’ve had some debt collection company with us,” he said.
Dr Provencal said that BEST is working tirelessly to recover these funds, noting that since it is government money, there is a strong case for lifting the veil of incorporation to hold the directors personally accountable.
“They set up companies, they rack up the BOST margin, they use it for their personal interest and they kill the company,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
