The Office of the Attorney-General has formally charged two former senior officials of the National Service Authority (NSA) — Osei Assibey Antwi, former Executive Director, and Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director — over their alleged roles in a GH¢653 million corruption scandal.
According to two separate charge sheets filed at the High Court in Accra, the state accuses the duo of masterminding elaborate financial schemes that drained public funds through ghost service personnel and fraudulent loan arrangements.
Osei Assibey’s Alleged GH¢615 Million “Ghost Personnel” Scheme
Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi faces 14 charges, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, and money laundering — making it one of the largest public-sector financial crime cases in recent years.
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The prosecution claims that he authorized the payment of allowances to over 60,000 non-existent national service personnel, resulting in a loss of GH¢500,861,744.02 to the state.
He is further accused of embezzling GH¢8.26 million, which was allegedly transferred into his personal e-zwich account, and of unlawfully withdrawing GH¢106 million from the NSA’s Kumawu Farm Project account without any corresponding expenditure on the project.
In total, the value of the alleged offences attributed to Mr. Antwi amounts to approximately GH¢615,117,744.02.
Gifty Oware’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.
Prosecutors allege that she exploited her oversight of the NSA’s Finance and Procurement departments to orchestrate a sophisticated loan scam through the Authority’s “marketplace” platform, which was intended to facilitate hire-purchase arrangements for service personnel.
Investigations revealed that Oware-Mensah allegedly took control of a private company, Blocks of Life Consult, and generated a list of 9,934 fictitious names from the NSA database. She then secured a GH¢31.5 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) under the pretext that her company had supplied goods to these fake personnel, using their supposed allowances as collateral.
The funds were paid directly into her company’s account, with over GH¢22.9 million later transferred to another company where she also served as a director. The prosecution notes that no goods were ever supplied, and the fraudulent transaction ultimately caused a total loss of GH¢38,458,248.87, including interest.
The Attorney-General’s Office has described the case as a major blow to public accountability and a test of the state’s resolve to tackle corruption within public institutions. Both accused persons are expected to make their first appearance in court in the coming days.
Story By: Afia Ohenewaa Akyerem