Businessman Daniel Ofori confesses: ‘I used to lie at the port’ – How a church sermon ended years of customs fraud

Ghanaian businessman and White Chapel brand owner Daniel Ofori has made a startling public confession, admitting that he routinely falsified the value of imported goods at the port for years to evade customs duties—and that a single church sermon brought the practice to an end.

Speaking before the congregation at Grace Baptist Church in Kumasi on Sunday, May 24, 2026, Ofori disclosed how he deliberately undervalued shipments, declaring goods worth $5,000 as just $1,000 to slash his tax obligations.

“You import goods, and if you tell the truth at the port, they are going to charge you a duty that would make you run at a loss,” Ofori told the gathering. “So, when you get there, you have to tell lies. If the goods you brought are worth 5,000, you tell them it is 1,000, so that after they charge the duty, you still have something to eat.”

Ofori, a well-known figure in Ghana’s business community who has also been involved in a high-profile lawsuit against Ecobank, traced his entrepreneurial roots to stores his father gave him in Adom. As he expanded into international importing, he said the pressure to remain profitable pushed him into the fraudulent practice.

While he acknowledged that such false declarations are widespread among importers—largely driven by what he called “exorbitant” customs charges—Ofori admitted that the dishonesty began to weigh heavily on his Christian conscience.

The turning point, he said, came unexpectedly during a church sermon focused on worshipping God “in spirit and in truth.”

“Meanwhile, the work we were doing was full of lies,” Ofori recounted. “You keep lying, and even when something is green, you say it is red.”

The contradiction, he said, became impossible to ignore, and he ultimately stopped the practice entirely.

Ofori closed his testimony by encouraging other members of the congregation who may be struggling to reconcile their professional lives with their faith to seek change, insisting that integrity is possible even in difficult business environments.

Attempts to reach the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division for comment on Ofori’s confession were unsuccessful as of press time.