Former Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund CEO Solomon Asamoah filed Supreme Court applications on August 21, 2026, challenging a High Court ruling that dismissed his submission of no case in the ongoing SkyTrain trial, while prosecutors confirmed neither he nor his co-accused has filed a defence.
The criminal proceedings surrounding the abandoned Ghana SkyTrain project have taken a sharp turn as legal challenges reach the nation’s highest court. The trial, centered on allegations involving a US$2 million payment made in 2019 for an equity stake in a company linked to the proposed urban rail transport initiative, faces fresh delays.
Supreme Court Filings After Missed Deadlines
Lawyers for Solomon Asamoah filed two applications at the Supreme Court on Thursday, August 21, 2026. The move came exactly one day after the expiration of an extended deadline granted by the trial court for the accused persons to open their defence.
Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai revealed the development in a social media post on Saturday, August 22, 2026, noting that the filings bypassed the final timeline set by the lower court over the abandoned Ghana Sky Train project. The first Supreme Court application seeks an order of certiorari to quash the High Court’s July 2 dismissal of Mr Asamoah’s submission of no case, alongside a request to vary his bail conditions. The second application asks for an interlocutory injunction to halt proceedings pending the determination of the certiorari application.
According to Dr Srem-Sai, neither Mr Asamoah nor his co-accused, former GIIF Board Chairman Prof Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has filed a defence. The two gentlemen have still not filed a defence,
Justice Srem-Sai said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Extended Timelines and Unfiled Defences
Following the close of the prosecution’s case in May, both Mr Asamoah and former Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund Board Chairman Prof Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi filed submissions of no case to answer. The High Court subsequently ruled that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence requiring them to open their defence. On July 2, the court dismissed the two accused persons’ submissions of no case and directed them to file their respective defences within 21 days if they wished to do so. When that initial period expired, neither accused filed a defence. Instead, they filed an application for a stay of proceedings. The court on July 30 subsequently granted the two accused persons another 21 days within which to file their defences, bringing the total period to 42 days. That extended deadline expired on August 20 without either accused filing a defence. The High Court has since adjourned the case to Monday, August 24, for a case management conference.
Project Background and Prosecution Claims
At the heart of the legal dispute is a US$2 million payment made by GIIF in 2019 for an equity stake in a company linked to the proposed Accra SkyTrain project. The prosecution alleges that the payment was made without the necessary approvals and that the project did not materialise.
The Ghana Sky Train project was conceived as an urban rail transport initiative intended to provide an elevated railway system in Accra, but the project failed to materialise as originally envisaged. After evaluating the state’s evidence, the prosecution closed its case in May, after which the accused persons filed submissions of no case to answer, leading to the High Court’s determination that sufficient evidence existed to require an open defence. Dr Srem-Sai had previously disclosed that the defence filing deadline was approaching after the court rejected the no-case submissions.
Next Legal Steps and Scheduled Hearings
The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing of Mr Asamoah’s interlocutory injunction application for August 27, 2026. The latest legal challenge could therefore affect the progression of the High Court proceedings, depending on the outcome of the Supreme Court application. The Supreme Court proceedings could determine whether the trial of the accused persons in the Sky Train case proceeds as scheduled at the lower court.
