GHANA · ECONOMY
Ghana’s tax agency said on Friday 13 November 2026 that it had arrested officials of three China Mall outlets over suspected tax evasion. China Mall is a retail chain with several outlets across Ghana.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the national tax collector, says some sales at the outlets in Ashaiman, Weija and Nsawam (towns in and around Accra, the capital) never reached its approved electronic system for value-added tax (VAT, a sales tax). Investigations continue, and no charges have been announced.
Key Facts
- Who The Ghana Revenue Authority, the national tax agency, arrested officials of three China Mall outlets.
- Where The outlets in Ashaiman, Weija and Nsawam.
- Suspected Tax evasion via unauthorised invoicing platforms; sales missing from the approved electronic VAT (E-VAT) system.
- Penalty The GRA will push for prison terms of up to five years where deliberate breaches are established.
- Not public How many were arrested, their names, the amounts involved and any charges.
The arrests followed intelligence-led investigations and mystery-shopping exercises. In them, GRA officers found some purchases not reflected in the state’s VAT records.
What the GRA Says Happened
Wisdom Kofi Xetor, head of the GRA’s Revenue Protection Unit, its enforcement team, said officers visited the Ashaiman outlet and bought goods as ordinary customers. This kind of test is called mystery shopping.
The officers then checked the sales against the GRA’s records. Xetor said some of the purchases had not been reflected on the GRA’s system.
He said this meant the transactions had been diverted, and that even the invoices issued did not conform to the authority’s approved invoicing system. He named the places visited: “Ashaiman, Weija and Nsawam are the three areas we visited today.”
What the Charge Means
E-VAT is the electronic system through which Ghanaian businesses record sales and issue VAT invoices. Shops collect VAT from customers and pass it to the state, so an unrecorded sale can mean unpaid tax.
The GRA says it is pursuing prosecution and prison terms of up to five years where deliberate breaches are established. It has not named the law behind that penalty, and it says investigations are under way to establish the extent of possible evasion.
Not the First Case
China Mall has met the GRA before: in October 2022, after e-invoicing began, the authority shut several of its branches in Greater Accra, for non-compliance. In January 2023 a GRA taskforce and police arrested the managers of five shopping businesses, including China Mall, over irregular e-VAT invoices.
The arrests come as Ghana works to collect more of its own revenue, a theme in our coverage of its revenue measures and its petroleum income. Our earlier reports also include an importers’ petition to the GRA over 28 missing containers.
What It Means for You
The GRA’s case is about how sellers record sales, not about what shoppers pay. For companies selling in Ghana it is a sign the GRA is testing large retailers against its electronic VAT records, and for investors a small data point on revenue enforcement.
What Is Not Known
The GRA has not said how many officials were arrested, who they are, or how much tax may be involved. We found no published response from China Mall by Friday evening, 13 November, and no charges or court dates have been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who arrested the China Mall officials?
The GRA said on Friday 13 November 2026 that it had arrested officials at three China Mall outlets. The outlets are in Ashaiman, Weija and Nsawam.
What is E-VAT?
It is the GRA’s electronic system for recording sales and issuing VAT invoices. The GRA says some China Mall sales were not captured on it.
How long could a prison sentence be?
The GRA says it will push for prison terms of up to five years where deliberate breaches are established. No charges have been announced yet.
Sources: Ghana Revenue Authority, remarks by Wisdom Kofi Xetor, head of the Revenue Protection Unit, to reporters, 13 November 2026 (gra.gov.gh).
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