The Office of the Attorney-General has filed criminal charges against two former senior officials of the National Service Authority (NSA) over an alleged corruption scandal that reportedly cost the state more than GH¢653 million.
In two separate charge sheets submitted to the High Court in Accra, the state accuses the former Executive Director, Osei Assibey Antwi, and former Deputy Executive Director, Gifty Oware-Mensah, of masterminding separate fraudulent schemes involving ghost service personnel and fictitious bank loans.
Osei Assibey Antwi’s Alleged GH¢615 Million Scheme
Mr. Antwi faces 14 counts of various offences, including causing financial loss to the Republic, stealing, and money laundering.
According to prosecutors, he authorized the payment of allowances to over 60,000 non-existent national service personnel, causing the state a loss of GH¢500,861,744.02.
He is further accused of stealing a total of GH¢8.26 million between August 2023 and May 2024, and diverting funds meant for the NSA’s Kumawu Farm Project. Investigators say he withdrew GH¢106 million from the project’s account on five occasions without investing any of the funds into the project.
Additionally, the state alleges that Mr. Antwi laundered part of the stolen money by transferring GH¢8.26 million into his personal e-zwich account, knowing the funds were proceeds of crime.
In total, his alleged offences amount to GH¢615,117,744.02.
Gifty Oware-Mensah’s Alleged GH¢38 Million Loan Fraud
Former Deputy Executive Director Gifty Oware-Mensah has also been charged with five counts, including stealing, willfully causing financial loss, using public office for profit, and money laundering.
Court documents indicate that Oware-Mensah, who oversaw Finance and Procurement at the NSA, allegedly exploited the authority’s marketplace platform a hire-purchase initiative for service personnel to execute a complex loan fraud.
She is said to have used a private firm she controlled, Blocks of Life Consult, to fabricate a list of 9,934 ghost names within the NSA’s system. Using these names, she allegedly secured a GH¢31.5 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), falsely claiming her company had supplied goods to service personnel and using their supposed allowances as collateral.
The funds were transferred directly into her company’s account, with GH¢22.9 million later moved to another firm where she served as a director. No goods were ever delivered.
With accrued interest, her actions allegedly resulted in a total loss of GH¢38,458,248.87 to the state.
