Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to support (a) Ghana in-country programmes to prevent (i) corruption and (ii) laundering of proceeds from corruption and (b) other country-specific corruption strategies.

DFID Ghana is currently implementing an anti-corruption programme - Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC). The programme engages with law enforcement agencies and policy makers to strengthen the Government of Ghana's capacity to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption, as well as supporting civil society to hold government to account. This programme supported a Parliamentary Act in Ghana that established the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which has independent powers to make inquiries into corruption and bribery, and has helped strengthen investigative systems in the Financial Intelligence Centre. It is also supporting Ghana to implement an effective action plan, after it was grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force in October 2018, including drafting of a new Anti-Money Laundering Bill and development of a beneficial ownership register.

There is strong coordination among HMG departments on tackling corruption and Serious Organised Crime (SOC) in Ghana. Under the FCDO, a new successor programme will be designed to tackle corruption and organised crime, both of which remain top UK Government priorities. In particular, it will seek to establish UK-Ghana partnerships to tackle illicit financial flows and provide asset-tracing and recovery of the proceeds of crime. Under the FCDO, a refreshed anti-corruption strategy will also be developed.