A former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, and former Deputy Executive Director of the authority, Gifty Oware Mensah, have been charged for allegedly authorizing payment of allowances to 69,934 non-existent (ghost) national service personnel.
Per the charge sheet filed at the High Court in Accra on October 13, the former NSA boss is accused of authorizing payments to over 60,000 non-existent national service personnel and misappropriating public funds during his tenure between August 2021 and February 2025.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, stated that between August 2021 and February 2025, Antwi allegedly authorized payments of GH¢500.86 million in allowances to over 60,000 non-existent (ghost) national service personnel.
He faces 14 counts comprising causing financial loss, stealing, and money laundering, under sections 179A(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and section 1(2)(c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).
For the former Deputy Executive Director, Mrs. Oware Mensah who is on a separate charge sheet, is alleged to have generated 9,934 ghost names from the NSA Central Management System (CMS).
She is also alleged to have taken control of Blocks of Life Consult Limited by making her mother’s driver one of the company’s directors.
She has been accused of presenting the company to ADB with the explanation that she had supplied goods on hire-purchase to the 9,934 ghost names and wanted to use their allowances as collateral for the facility.
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The alleged scheme allowed her to fraudulently obtain GH¢38,458,248.87 from the bank through source deductions of the 9,934 non-existent allowances over 11 months.
She faces five counts, including willfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering.
The two are expected to be arraigned at the High Court in Accra in the coming days to respond to the charges.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
