The CEO of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), Kevin Okyere, has testified in a Ghanaian court that he was detained in Dubai.
Reports suggest Kevin Okyere admitted that the Springfield entity drew down $50 million from a $100 million Petraco financing facility.
According to reports, Kevin Okyere’s admissions represent a pivotal moment in the long-running legal dispute, shifting focus to substantive issues of the transactions rather than just jurisdiction or procedure.
The news update shared by CDR Africa read, “Springfield Energy founder Kevin Okyere has told a Ghanaian court that he was once detained in Dubai and that a Springfield company received $50 million through a financing arrangement linked to Petraco.
The testimony is a major development in the ongoing legal dispute over the company’s finances, as the court examines the details of the transactions and related claims”.
It will be recalled that Kevin Okyere was earlier released on a US$20 million bail in Dubai, but was, however, restricted from leaving the emirate.
This follows a US$94 million fraud case filed by Switzerland-based Petraco Oil Company SA against Okyere.
Mr Okyere’s bail in Dubai is the latest development in a protracted international legal dispute involving high-value petroleum transactions, cross-border arbitration, and allegations of large-scale fraud.
His 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).
According to the information gathered, the Swiss company, frustrated by the lack of response in Ghana, pursued legal action in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
It has been claimed that the Office of the Attorney General stalled the case because it was seen as a civil issue that does not require state intervention.
Another claim highlighted that the Mahama government was working 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”.
Mr Okyere’s arrest was in connection with what is described as a “systematic and orchestrated economic crime” involving nearly US$93 million allegedly perpetrated by Springfield Exploration & Production Limited and GMP Energy Limited, both Ghanaian oil companies, along with their senior executives.
Meanwhile, deep-throat sources have alleged that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, played a behind-the-scenes role in Kevin Okyere’s release from Dubai prison.
It has been alleged that the Asantehene mounted sustained pressure on the John Mahama-led government to intervene diplomatically on Kofi Okyere’s behalf.
According to reports, approximately US$5 million was mobilised to make partial payments to Petraco Oil Company SA in Kevin Okyere’s US$94 million fraud case.
Reports claimed that the Mahama administration, following the Otumfuo’s pressure, brokered a diplomatic arrangement that enabled Mr Okyere to enter Ghana, despite his unresolved legal issues in the UAE.
See the post below:
🇬🇭 Springfield Energy founder Kevin Okyere has told a Ghanaian court that he was once detained in Dubai and that a Springfield company received $50 million through a financing arrangement linked to Petraco.
— CDR AFRICA (@cdrafrica) June 10, 2026
The testimony is a major development in the ongoing legal dispute over… pic.twitter.com/VRPmtBMdbE
