Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has revealed damning details about a criminal enterprise that bled the state of over GHC 548 million through the National Service Authority (NSA).
At the heart of the scandal is former Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah, who is accused of masterminding a complex operation involving ghost names, fraudulent loans, and abuse of state resources.
“I have received the docket compiled by diligent investigators at NIB.
“The dockets were compiled under close supervision led by my office,” Dr. Ayine announced during a media briefing in Accra.
According to the Attorney-General, Oware-Mensah manipulated the NSA system by inserting 9,934 ghost names into the service’s payroll structure to divert funds.
But her alleged scheme didn’t stop there.
“Suspect Gifty Oware-Mensah used a total of 9,934 ghost names to perpetuate said diversion of funds… used NSS data to obtain a loan of over GHC 30 million with interest of 23 percent from ADB,” Ayine stated.
In a move that further raises ethical and legal red flags, the former deputy director reportedly created a company named Blocks of Life Consult, using her husband—a lawyer—as one of the directors.
It was through this company that the loan of GHC 30,698,218 was secured from ADB Bank, allegedly using falsified NSS data as collateral.
