Gifty Oware-Mensah charged for stealing over GH¢38m in NSS scandal

The former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, has been arraigned before the Accra High Court on serious criminal charges, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and abuse of public office.

According to documents filed by the Attorney-General’s Department, Oware-Mensah allegedly diverted and misappropriated GH¢38,458,248.87 between February 2022 and March 2024, during her tenure overseeing the Authority’s finance, audit, and procurement divisions.

Alleged Diversion of Loan Funds

Prosecutors assert that Oware-Mensah unlawfully transferred GH¢31.5 million from a loan facility—intended to benefit National Service Personnel—into the account of her private company, Blocks of Life Consult.

The funds were purportedly meant for a hire-purchase scheme to supply goods to service personnel. However, investigators later discovered that no goods were delivered and that the beneficiaries listed were “ghost names” fabricated from within the NSA’s internal system.

Specific Charges

The state has levelled multiple counts against the accused, including:

Stealing GH¢31,502,091.40 belonging to the National Service Authority.

Willfully causing financial loss to the Republic of Ghana through a fraudulent hire-purchase contract.

Abuse of public office for personal enrichment.

Money laundering, arising from the transfer of illicitly obtained funds into her personal and affiliated corporate accounts.

Prosecutors further revealed that the funds were obtained under an agreement with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), with repayment terms structured around deductions from allowances of 9,934 supposed service personnel—all later confirmed to be non-existent.

Part of the siphoned money, investigators discovered, was transferred to Amaecom Global Company, where Oware-Mensah serves as a director, as well as to several related entities and personal accounts.

The National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) initiated the investigation following reports of financial irregularities and systemic corruption within the NSA’s financial management processes.

Oware-Mensah, who served as Deputy Executive Director until early 2025, is expected to make her next appearance before the High Court (Criminal Division) in the coming weeks.

The Attorney-General’s Office has indicated its intention to rely on bank statements, digital transaction records, and internal audit reports to substantiate the charges.

If convicted, Oware-Mensah could face substantial custodial sentences, alongside asset forfeiture and restitution orders, in line with Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).