KEY POINTS
- Domelevo admits ORAL data was unverified.
- $21 billion figure was based on raw complaints.
- Recovery of looted funds remains a major challenge.
Former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo has admitted that the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) team gathered unverified and sometimes unreliable data during his tenure describing some of the submissions as “garbage.”
Speaking on October 22, Domelevo confirmed that the ORAL figures, once projected at about $21 billion, were never verified and merely represented a compilation of public complaints and documents.
“I completely agree,” he said, responding to Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah’s assertion that the $21 billion figure was exaggerated. “Those figures are just a summation of complaints which came. After an audit or investigation, those figures may balloon further or shrink. It is possible.”
Data gathered without verification or scrutiny
Domelevo explained that the ORAL team’s role was limited to collecting and recording submissions — not verifying their authenticity. “As for us, we just collected data and summed it up. We didn’t do any investigation,” he said. “A preliminary investigation may even show that some of the complaints were just noise.”
He revealed that the team accepted every submission, whether written, oral, or emailed, without verification. “Nobody came to us that we turned away,” he said. “You just come and say that someone is involved in this or that; we capture it.”
Some of the complaints, he added, were received via email without supporting evidence. “What about if the person is just making it up?” Domelevo asked. “Being an experienced auditor, I know that some documents may later prove inauthentic. So there will be a lot of garbage in it.”
Recovery remains difficult despite court wins
While acknowledging the flaws in the data, Domelevo said even valid cases faced major recovery challenges. “The actual game is in the courtroom,” he noted. “When you get there, the amount may reduce significantly.”
He cited the long-running Woyome case as an example of how difficult it can be to enforce court rulings. “The Supreme Court said pay, but it took time. I don’t know if it has fully been paid,” he said. “Winning the case is one thing, recovering it is another ball game.”
Domelevo also praised Attorney General Godfred Dame for addressing public concerns about alleged political interference in the ORAL process. “It is good that the Attorney General took time to dispel the view that anyone was trying to bribe their way through. That is very necessary,” he said.
