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Serious Fraud Office Looking at Vodafone Ghana Deal ...

(03 Nov 2009, BWCS Staff)

The Financial Times newspaper is this morning reporting that the Serious Fraud Office in the UK is looking into Vodafone's recent capture of a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom. According to the paper, the head of the SFO, Richard Alderman, contacted Vodafone's legal department last week with some questions about the Ghana deal. A full investigation is not yet under way, but the SFO is said to be monitoring the situation and looking into accusations of irregularities in the deal.

The newspaper quotes Stephen Scott, Vodafone's Head of Legal Affairs, as saying "We are confident the transaction was conducted to the highest standards of corporate governance."

Last year, the UK-based global mobile giant bought two thirds of Ghana Telecom in a deal that was criticized by the country's opposition party - now the party in power in Ghana. In May of this year, the new government set up a ministerial committee to review the sale and last month the members of the committee recommended that the government seek to renegotiate the terms of the deal.

Vodafone reportedly paid around £480 million, for a 66.7% stake in the African operator in July 2008.

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