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Renowned for his relentless pursuit of truth and justice, Raymond Archer, a distinguished figure in national security, corporate intelligence, and investigative journalism, has been appointed as the Acting Chief Executive Director of Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO). This follows his recent role as Acting Deputy Executive Director and the reassignment of Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah to the National Security Secretariat. Archer’s appointment is set to bolster EOCO’s mission to combat economic and organized crime under President John Mahama’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative, aimed at reclaiming state assets acquired through corrupt means.
With an illustrious career spanning over two decades, Archer brings a wealth of experience to EOCO. For 15 years, he has served as a National Security Specialist, addressing complex threats across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. His 16 years as an International Risk Consultant in Corporate Intelligence, Corporate Risk, and International Investigations have seen him collaborate with global firms such as KPMG (Europe), Kroll & Associates (UK), and Risk Analysis UK. As a Certified Counter Fraud Specialist for 14 years, Archer has honed his skills in uncovering financial misconduct, further solidified by his leadership of the covert Opponent’s Research Group (ORG) since 2019, which specializes in exposing organized crime.
Archer’s entrepreneurial ventures over the past 15 years include ownership of cybersecurity firms partnered with top Israeli companies, focusing on defense intelligence and due diligence in the energy sector. His academic credentials are extensive, holding postgraduate degrees in Intelligence & Security and Leading Innovation & Change from UK institutions, alongside diplomas in Criminology (UK), National Security and Application of Intelligence (Israel), Private Investigations (USA), and Journalism (Ghana). He is also a Fellow of Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government and the U.S. State Department’s International Visitors Program.
A trailblazer in investigative journalism, Archer’s 20-year career is marked by historic achievements. At age 29, he became the first African and youngest recipient of the Global Gold Medal for Excellence in Journalism from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). He also secured the Lorenzo Natali Prize for Excellence in Journalism in Africa, the Best West African Journalist Award from the West African Journalism Association (WAJA), and was named Best Investigative Journalist in Ghana (2003/2004) by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). As the founder, editor, and publisher of *The Enquirer* newspaper and former editor of *The Ghanaian Chronicle*, Archer exposed corruption and held public officials accountable, reshaping Ghana’s media landscape.
Archer’s deep ties to EOCO date back 14 years when, as a United Nations consultant, he played a pivotal role in drafting the Economic and Organised Crime Act (2010, Act 804), the legislation that formalized EOCO. Currently pursuing further studies in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Texas’ McCombs Business School, specializing in Generative AI, Archer is poised to bring innovative approaches to EOCO’s operations.
“Raymond Archer is a force to be reckoned with,” said a senior official close to the appointment. “His unparalleled expertise in security, intelligence, and journalism, combined with his proven track record in anti-corruption investigations, makes him the ideal leader to steer EOCO in its fight against financial and organized crime.”
As EOCO intensifies its efforts to recover illicitly acquired state assets and tackle transnational crime, Archer’s appointment signals a new era of robust enforcement and accountability in Ghana.