The Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine has revealed a massive criminal network within the National Service Authority (NSA) that siphoned over GHC548 million from state coffers following the discovery of over 8,000 ghost names on the payroll.
Addressing the media during a government briefing on its anti-corruption drive, Dr. Ayine said the revelations emerged from investigations under the ongoing Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.
The probe trigged after President John Dramani Mahama ordered the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to scrunitize irregularities at the NSA, where the over 8,000 ghost names had been discovered.
Dr. Ayine stated that the investigations uncovered key individuals who held key postitions during the Akufo-Addo administration including executives, directors, staff and service providers involved in what he described as criminal enterprise.
“In the 2022/2023 service year, GH¢350,926,977.12 was lost to the state. For the 2023/2024 service year, GH¢32,881,157.07 was lost to the Republic. In total, as stated, we lost about GH¢548,333,542.65 to the criminal enterprise perpetrated by these executives, directors, and staff, as well as the service providers in the market.”
“The criminal enterprise that resulted in the loss of this colossal sum of money involved the creation of ghost names in the NSA payroll system by some directors and staff, which was subsequently exploited to misappropriate state funds for their gain.”
“Before each service year, NSS directors submitted lump-sum payments to bolster the payroll. These sums were then redistributed via ghost accounts—cementing the scheme as recurring and institutionalised,” he said.
The Attorney General, also the Minister of Justice emphasized that the investigations are ongoing, with more details expected in the coming weeks.
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