In March 2025, Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources was rocked by a legal petition exposing a multi-decade fraud involving the unlawful seizure of a gold prospecting license originally granted to AG Marketing Company Ltd.

(AG Ghana), a company founded in 1988 by Ghanaian businessman John Simpson and his partner, Antonio Croom.

The petition, filed by Randolph Forbes Ballard Jr., Esq., a U.S.-based attorney with Simbal Law Group International, accused individuals and corporations of orchestrating a scheme that deprived AG Ghana of its concession for over three decades.

AG Ghana received a gold prospecting license in 1989 from Ghana’s Minerals Commission.

But by 1995, Simpson’s partner, Antonio Croom, allegedly manipulated the system to have the license reissued under A.G. Marketing Inc. of Maryland—a U.S. firm that had already been dissolved five years earlier.

The Maryland company was later rebranded as Vista Mining Corporation, a Tennessee-registered entity with no legitimate ties to AG Ghana.

Vista, in turn, was linked to Ashanti Sankofa Inc. (formerly AMI Resources Inc.) and Norcan Mining Corporation, all of which allegedly exploited AG Ghana’s Adumasa gold concession to raise millions of dollars on the Vancouver Stock Exchange without registering in Ghana.

Investigators also discovered discrepancies in Vista’s corporate history.

While Vista claimed license rights as far back as 1989, records showed it was not incorporated in Tennessee until 1992 and only registered in Ghana in 1994.

The scandal resurfaced in 2025 through two major petitions:

Ballard’s March 2025 Petition accused Vista and its affiliates of using falsified documents, fraudulent backdating, and unauthorised resolutions to maintain control of the concession.

He demanded the restoration of AG Ghana’s rights, prosecution of fugitive directors hiding abroad, and sanctions against complicit officials.

Hensen Kwadwo Kodua’s July 2025 Petition, filed by a Ghanaian Supreme Court solicitor, reinforced Ballard’s claims. Mr Kodua cited the Minerals Commission’s failure to perform due diligence, pointing out that Ashanti Sankofa and Norcan Mining had no legal claim to the concession. He also revealed that the Ghana Police’s CID had opened a criminal probe, though suspects remain at large.

The case has raised serious questions about oversight in Ghana’s mining sector.

The Minerals Commission is accused of approving transfers without proper verification, while unregistered foreign entities were allowed to exploit Ghana’s mineral resources unchecked for nearly three decades.

The Ghana Police have reportedly sought guidance from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources as their investigation deepens.

However, the fraudulent transfer of AG Ghana’s license remains unresolved.

For John Simpson, who founded AG Ghana nearly 40 years ago, the fight for justice continues.

His company’s ordeal has become a symbol of both corporate betrayal and regulatory negligence in Ghana’s mining sector.