…Barred from leaving The Emirate amid US$94 million fraud case

Reports available to The Herald indicate that Kevin Okyere, Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), has been released on a US$20 million bail in Dubai in connection with a US$94 million fraud case filed by Switzerland-based Petraco Oil Company SA.

He is, however, reportedly restricted from leaving the emirate.

Mr Okyere’s bail in Dubai marks the latest development in a protracted international legal dispute involving high-value petroleum transactions, cross-border arbitration, and allegations of large-scale fraud.

Mr Okyere’s arrest came despite previous petitions by Petraco Oil Company to Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) and the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which sources say failed to act.

The Swiss company, frustrated by the lack of response in Ghana, pursued legal action in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

But The Herald was informed that the Office of the Attorney General had stalled action on the matter because it is seen as a purely civil issue that does not require state intervention.

Another claim was that the Mahama government was working around the clock to help Springfield, whose desperate unitization prospect with the Italian oil giant, ENI, didn’t see the light of day, either to sell the block, Afina, to the state or to have it appraised for takeover by another company.

The unitization between Springfield’s Afina discovery and ENI’s Sankofa field in Ghana was a years-long dispute that resulted in a government directive from the Akufo-Addo administration to combine the fields for more efficient development.

However, the Mahama government, through the Ministry of Energy, eventually withdrew this directive in February 2025 after persistent pressure from the Italian company, leaving the parties to find an amicable solution.

The dispute was initially prompted by the discovery of connected fields and Springfield’s efforts to have the two fields declared as a single unit. 

Ghana’s Petroleum Commission also raised regulatory breaches by the Springfield.

According to available reports, Mr Okyere, who was in the company of the two bodyguards, was detained upon landing in Dubai for a transit stop on an Emirates Airlines flight en route to Paris.

Other accounts suggest he had flown out of Accra the previous evening for a discreet business meeting in the Gulf with a senior official from a major oil company and representatives from Ghana’s Ministry of Energy.

The meeting, intended to explore a prospective partnership with Lukoil, rapidly escalated into a legal and diplomatic issue.

Dubai authorities are reportedly considering extraditing Mr Okyere to the UK after he failed to honour a court summons regarding a cargo of petrol supplied by EDURC Company DMCC and discharged at Tema, Ghana, valued at US$29,321,064.51.

He had refused to travel to the UK, where he holds citizenship, despite warnings that a bench warrant would be issued if he failed to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 3 September 2025.

Petraco Oil alleges that Mr Okyere and Springfield, along with Ghanaian partner GMP Energy Limited, diverted proceeds from crude oil lifting under their joint venture, Petraco Energies DMCC, amounting to US$94 million.

The company claims the funds were deliberately misappropriated, with executives falsely asserting non-payment despite receiving full settlement from Ghana’s state-owned Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST).

The Swiss company also claims that a US$50 million loan extended to Springfield to fund a unitisation project with Eni Ghana was obtained under false pretences.

According to Petraco, Mr Okyere misrepresented that all government approvals were in place and that repayment was guaranteed, which the company alleges was untrue.

Petraco has described these actions as a “systematic and orchestrated economic crime of serious international consequence,” as it did not get its money from the transactions.

In response, Springfield and GMP Energy have denied any wrongdoing. Springfield described the allegations as “misleading and damaging,” asserting that the loan transaction was a legitimate commercial arrangement secured by a charge over 10 per cent of its shares. GMP Energy similarly dismissed fraud claims, describing the dispute as a straightforward commercial disagreement currently under arbitration in Dubai.

Despite the serious allegations and the potential losses, EOCO and CID reportedly did not initiate public investigations into the matter. Sources indicate that the Dubai arbitration tribunal proceeded with hearings ex parte after GMP Energy failed to appear or file a defence, leading to Mr Okyere’s detention.

UK authorities had earlier warned Mr Okyere that failure to appear in court could result in an arrest warrant and remand in custody. The alleged offences fall under Sections 1 and 2 of the UK Fraud Act 2006, relating to false representations for personal gain or to cause loss to another party.

On August 20, 2025, The Herald had reported about how the United Kingdom court had threatened to issue an arrest warrant for the founder and owner of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), a subsidiary of the Springfield Group, if he failed to appear before it on September 3, 2025, to answer criminal charges of fraud.

Mr Okyere, was summoned by Westminster Magistrates’ Court, located at 181 Marylebone Road, London, and sternly warned that failure to attend could result in proceedings continuing in his absence or in a warrant being issued for his arrest, with the possibility of being remanded in custody until brought before the court.

The charges relate to an alleged fraud of USD 29,321,064.51 (Twenty-Nine Million, Three Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Sixty-Four Dollars and Fifty-One Cents) involving a cargo of gasoline supplied by EDURC Company DMCC and discharged at Tema, Ghana, on September 5, 2024.

The summoned, intercepted by The Herald, had UK Prosecutors alleging that between July 2024 and June 2025, Mr Okyere dishonestly represented that he would pay the stated amount within 30 days, knowing this to be untrue, in order to make a personal gain.

According to the summons, dated 13 August 2025, Mr Okyere’s UK address was traced to 14 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 BRE.

The matter, filed under case number 012500503129, identified Petraco Oil Company SA, represented by Bracewell (UK) LLP, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ, as the complainant.

The court scheduled the hearing for 3 September 2025 at 10:05 a.m. at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, with Mr Okyere instructed to report at least 30 minutes prior to the listing time.

The notice reiterated that attendance is mandatory and that failure to comply may result in the issuance of an arrest warrant.

According to the charge sheet, the alleged conduct constitutes offences under Sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, which criminalize making false representations for personal gain or to cause loss to another.

The court notice states:  “The court will hear the case on 3 September 2025 at 10:05 am at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, 181 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5BR (telephone 0300 303 0645). Attendance: You must attend the court 30 minutes before the time shown above. A listing time is not a guaranteed hearing time. You may be required to wait. Warning: If you do not attend, the court may deal with the case in your absence or may issue a warrant for your arrest (and you may be held in custody until you are brought before the court).”

The charges, under Sections 1 and 2 of the UK Fraud Act 2006, allege that between July 1, 2024 and June 1, 2025, Mr Okyere dishonestly made a false representation that he would pay USD 29,321,064.51 for the gasoline cargo within 30 days, “knowing this to be untrue and intending to make a gain for himself.”

Kevin Okyere did not honour the court’s summons. He was afraid of being arrested and having his passport confiscated until the fraud-related case is resolved, with a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

He has declined to travel to the UK, where he is a citizen, to attend the hearing and demonstrate his innocence. This was despite a firm warning that a bench warrant would be issued for his arrest if he did not appear in court on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

With his current situation, he might be extradited to the UK to face criminal charges there.  

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