Attorney General exposes GHS548 Million National Service Scandal; 25 suspects to face prosecution

Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as a sprawling criminal enterprise within the National Service Authority (NSA), leading to the loss of over GHS548 million in state funds over a six-year period.

At a press briefing in Accra on Friday, Dr. Ayine revealed findings from a four-month investigation under Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) — a directive by President John Dramani Mahama to recover stolen state resources and prosecute those responsible for public sector corruption.

“Far from inculcating civic responsibility and patriotism, the National Service Authority became the epicentre of a sophisticated criminal operation run by its top officials in collusion with private vendors,” the Attorney General said.

The scandal, first uncovered by The Fourth Estate and later investigated by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) under the supervision of the Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem Sai, revealed that ghost names were systematically added to the NSA payroll from 2018 to 2024, enabling the diversion of public funds into private accounts.

According to the Attorney General, more than 63,000 ghost names were used to siphon off funds from the national service payroll system.

While 587,543 names were validated for payment, records showed 650,165 payments were processed, leading to significant losses to the state.

Breakdown of Funds Lost by Year:

• 2018/2019: GHS25.8m

• 2019/2020: GHS21.6m

• 2020/2021: GHS55.6m

• 2021/2022: GHS61.3m

• 2022/2023: GHS350.9m

• 2023/2024: GHS32.8m

• Total: GHS548,333,542.65

Modus Operandi

Dr. Ayine detailed how top officials at the NSA inflated figures submitted to Parliament and then transferred excess funds into a project account at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

Under the pretense of executing projects, the funds were subsequently misappropriated.

In one striking case, former NSA deputy director Gifty Oware-Mensah was said to have masterminded a GHS30.6 million loan scheme using ghost names.

She allegedly created a front company, Blocks of Life Consult, to secure financing from ADB at a 23% interest rate using national service allowances as collateral.

Funds from this scheme were then funneled into multiple company accounts including AMEACOM, Scafold, OTCHEY, and Aristo Logistics and Trading.

The investigation also uncovered that former Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi personally received GHS8.2 million through an E-Zwich account found during a search at his residence.

Several vendors who received substantial payments without providing evidence of goods or services include:

• Rose Hamilton (Marine Ventures): GHS50.7m

• Haruna Mawulaya (Al-Fayda Ventures): GHS21.3m

• Isaac Asamani (Option Buy Ventures): GHS11.4m

• Sylvia Ntriwa Opare (Sylsona Ventures): GHS10.7m

• Jacob Yawson (Nyansapo Ventures): GHS19.2m

• Charles Ohemeng (CH OHEC Ventures): GHS14.2m

• Philomina Arthur & Stephen Gyamfi (Brainwave Ventures): GHS17.6m

• Solomon Dwamena (Alfarita Ventures): GHS8.2m

• Kwaku Opare Agbofa & Prince Awuku (Fralisa Ventures): GHS49m

25 to Face Prosecution

A total of 25 individuals — including 12 public officials and 13 private vendors — will face criminal charges ranging from:

• Stealing

• Conspiracy to steal

• Willfully causing financial loss to the state

• Using public office for profit

• Money laundering

• Obtaining public property by false statements

Among those named are:

• Mustapha Yussif, former Executive Director

• Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director

• Osei Assibey Antwi, former Director-General

• Eric Nyarko, former Head of Accounts

• Abraham Bismark Gaisie, Head of Deployment

• Jacob Yawson, MIS Administrator, Northern Region

• Peter Mensah, lawyer and husband of Gifty Oware-Mensah

“We have completed the criminal investigation phase and will now proceed to file charges against these individuals,” Dr. Ayine confirmed. “Our focus is not only to prosecute but to retrieve assets and funds looted through these illegal schemes.”

He added that non-prosecution agreements have been signed with certain vendors who are cooperating as state witnesses. Their identities remain protected for now.

Asset Recovery Underway

The Attorney General concluded by stating that asset tracing and recovery efforts are ongoing.

All suspects found to have acquired assets through these illegal activities will be pursued, and the state will take steps to recover all identifiable funds.

“This is a new era of accountability. We owe it to the Ghanaian people to restore integrity to public service,” Dr. Ayine stated.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith