The Chief Executive Officer of Goldridge Refinery Ltd, Nana Yaw Duodu, popularly known as Dr. Sledge, has been released from the custody of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after meeting his bail conditions on Monday, September 29.

Mr. Duodu is under investigation for alleged corruption and corruption-related offences connected to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), particularly in relation to the fund’s gold trade programme.

In February this year, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, announced an inquiry into suspected corruption within MIIF’s operations, focusing on payments and transactions linked to several flagship projects.

It has been alleged that the state lost more than $94 million due to Goldridge Refinery’s failure to honour trade settlements under the Gold for Forex and Gold for Oil initiatives.

MIIF had earlier addressed reports of a $90 million loss, clarifying that its internal review showed the fund disbursed the cedi equivalent of $30 million, released in three tranches of $10 million each, to Goldridge as its first aggregator in 2023.

According to MIIF, this revolving monthly outlay generated an average of about $60 million per month over eleven months.

The fund further explained that its participation in the Gold for Oil programme did not involve any direct capital injection.

Instead, bulk oil distribution companies provided cedis to MIIF’s Trade Desk via the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, an arrangement that reportedly generated about $650 million in foreign exchange between February and September 2024 for fuel import payments.

Sources at the OSP confirmed to Citi News that Dr. Sledge is required to report to investigators every Tuesday while the probe continues.