Gifty Oware-Mensah, a former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), is at the center of a high-level payroll fraud that saw over 9,900 ghost names inserted into the national service database and used as collateral to secure a GH¢30.6 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
At a press briefing in Accra on Friday, June 13, 2025, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine disclosed that Oware-Mensah played a central role in the creation of *9,934 ghost names on the national service payroll over two service years.
These fake identities were used as collateral to fraudulently secure a GH¢30.6 million loan from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) at a 23% interest rate.
According to investigators, Oware-Mensah registered a company named Blocks of Life Consult using other people’s personal information without their knowledge.
She then presented the company to ADB through an intermediary, claiming it supplied household appliances to national service personnel on a hire-purchase basis.
The NSA, which she temporarily led as Acting Director, was falsely presented as the guarantor for deductions and repayments.
Ms. Oware -Mensah allegedly enlisted her husband, lawyer Peter Mensah, as a director of the sham company.
Once the loan was disbursed, the funds were funneled into four separate companies—including one she co-owns and another belonging to her alleged accomplice, Abraham Gaisie.
According to Dr. Ayine, between March 2023 and May 2024, she is said to have moved more than GH¢22.9 million to ‘AMAECOM’, GH¢1 million to ‘Scafold’, GH¢1.57 million to ‘OTCHEY’, and GH¢5.2 million to ‘Aristo Logistics and Trading.
The Attorney General further noted that Gifty Oware-Mensah’s actions were not isolated but enabled by her control over payroll data and collaboration with senior NSA officials.
Investigations also revealed that national service volunteers were paid from misappropriated funds during her tenure.
He said, “Within two service years (2022-2023 and 2023-2024), suspect Gifty Oware-Mensah used a total of nine thousand, nine hundred and thirty-four (9,934) ghost names to misappropriate the aforementioned funds. Investigation further established that, after ADB transferred the funds into the account of the company, she subsequently transferred the funds into four different company accounts with the names as follows: AMEACOM, Scafold, OTCHEY, and Aristo Logistics and Trading. It was further established that suspect Gifty is a director of AMAECOM and Scaffold Company Limited belongs to suspect Abraham Gaisie. That, between 3rd March 2023 and 24th May 2024, suspect Gifty transferred twenty-two million nine hundred and twenty-five thousand, five hundred and eighteen Ghana cedis and sixty-nine pesewas (Ghc 22,925,518.69) to AMAECOM, one million Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,000,000.00) to Scafold, one million, five hundred and seventy-two thousand seven hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,572,700.00) to OTCHEY, and five million, two hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢5,200,000.00) to Aristo Logistics and Trading.”
“Investigation however established that Eric NYARKO (from 2017 until April 2024,) and Iddrisu IBN ABU-BAKR (April 2024 to December 2024) were responsible for preparing and transmitting NSP payroll data to GHIPPS for payment of allowances with the approval of the former NSA Director-Generals; Mustapha YUSSIF (2017- February 2021), Gifty Oware ABOAGYE (acting February, 2021-September, 2021) and Osei Assibey ANTWI (September, 2021 to January, 2025). Without their explicit authority nothing was possible. Furthermore, investigation revealed that national service volunteers received payments from funds intended for NSP allowances between 2018 and 2024.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
