The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has referred Wilmar Africa Limited and De Heus, two food processing companies in Tema, to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service after compliance checks under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports.

GNA said the referrals form part of a wider action in which four Tema Free Zones companies, Barry Callebaut, TF Commodities, Wilmar Africa Limited and De Heus, were cited after inspections on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. GhanaCrimes has already reported the separate DPC directives involving Barry Callebaut and TF Commodities.

According to GNA, quoting Mr Quintin Akrobotu, Director of Regulatory and Compliance at the DPC, Wilmar Africa Limited could not produce a valid certificate and confirmed that its previous certificate had expired, though it said it was taking steps to renew it. De Heus had registered with the Commission but could not produce its certificate during the inspection. Commission records showed the company had collected the certificate, which was due for renewal the following year.

Mr Akrobotu told the media that TF Commodities and Wilmar Africa Limited had been invited to provide statements on their compliance failures, while Barry Callebaut had been directed to report to CID headquarters in Accra by Wednesday, 14 October 2026.

GNA reported that registration and certification are mandatory for organisations collecting and processing personal information, and that certificates must be renewed every two years under Section 50 of Act 843. "If a certificate is expired, it's as good as you are not registered," Mr Akrobotu said.

The same report said Cargill Ghana Limited and Imperial Health Sciences (also known as DP World) demonstrated compliance during the exercise. Mr Akrobotu also condemned alleged attacks on journalists covering the inspections and said the enforcement exercise would continue until organisations processing personal information complied with the law.

No charges against Wilmar Africa Limited or De Heus were set out in the GNA report available at the time of writing. The companies had not issued public responses in that report.

Sources: Ghana News Agency