Former Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, has acknowledged that some of the data compiled under the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative contained unverified and unreliable entries — which he described as “garbage.”
Mr. Domelevo, a member of the ORAL team, explained that the ORAL team’s role was limited to gathering complaints and documents submitted by the public without any form of validation or investigation.
“I completely agree,” he said, responding to remarks by the Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem-Sai suggesting that the projected $21 billion recovery figure under ORAL was exaggerated.
“I remember I had an interview with you earlier, and I said those figures were just the summation of the complaints that came. And I even said that after an audit or investigation, those figures may balloon further or may shrink. It is possible,” he said during an interview with Joy FM.
He added that the true test of the figures would come during legal proceedings. “The actual game is in the courtroom,” Mr. Domelevo noted. “When you get to the courtroom, the amount may reduce significantly. And I caution. I remember saying that even if we should win the 21 or close to $22 billion, collecting it is another game altogether.”
According to him, even court victories do not necessarily guarantee the recovery of funds. “There are two lawyers who will tell you that winning a case in court does not mean you will collect the money,” he said. “I remember citing the Woyome case. The Supreme Court said pay, but it took some time. I don’t know up to now whether it has fully been paid. So winning the case is one thing, recovering it is another ball game.”
Mr. Domelevo clarified that the ORAL figures represented raw, unfiltered data, not verified audit findings. “As for us, we just collected data and summed it up. We didn’t do any investigation,” he explained. “A preliminary investigation might even show that some of the complaints were just noise. There’s nothing in it. But we collected the data as it did so — including the garbage.”
When asked to explain his use of the term “garbage,” he said the team accepted all submissions without rejecting any.
“Yes, because nobody came to us that we turned away and said, yours we will not take,” he said. “So we collected all the information. Remember, we were not investigating. So when you come, we are not going to say that Mr. Mensah substantiates what you are saying. You just come and say Mr. Amaliba is involved in this or that, and we capture it.”
He added that some complaints arrived via email without supporting evidence.
“Some even came in the form of emails. What about if the person is just making it up?” he asked.
Mr. Domelevo noted that some documents submitted could have been fabricated.
“Being an experienced auditor, I know you can submit documents, and later, when we test them, they may have no substance or may not be authentic,” he said. “So there will be a lot of garbage in it. There’s no two ways about that.”
Furthermore, Mr. Domelevo also commended the Attorney-General for clarifying misconceptions about alleged political interference in ORAL’s work.
“It is good that the Attorney-General spent some time,” he remarked. “I listened to him. Clearly, he took time to dispel the notion that any NDC member or legal team tried to bribe their way through. I think that was very, very necessary.”
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