List of top Ghanaian officials ‘fingered’ in the over GH¢548m ‘stolen’ money scandal

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has revealed that a network involving top officials of the National Service Authority (NSA) caused the state to lose over GH¢548 million through the insertion of ghost names in the National Service Scheme (NSS) payroll.

Those implicated include former Sports Minister and former NSS Executive Director Mustapha Ussif; Ghana Football Association Executive Council member and former NSS Deputy Director Gifty Oware-Mensah; and Osei Assibey Antwi, the immediate past Executive Director of the NSS, among others.

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, June 13, 2025, Dr. Ayine said an investigation by his office uncovered how these individuals, while holding leadership positions under the previous administration, set up what he described as a “criminal enterprise” involving directors, staff, and service providers.

“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. In total, we lost about GH¢548,333,542.65 to this criminal enterprise carried out by executives, directors, staff, and service providers,” he said.

He explained that the fraud involved the creation of ghost names on the NSS payroll by some directors and staff, which was then used to steal large sums of money from the state.

The Attorney General confirmed that criminal charges will soon be filed against Mustapha Ussif, Gifty Oware-Mensah, Osei Assibey Antwi, and others involved. The charges will include payroll fraud, misappropriation of public funds, money laundering, and other financial misconduct uncovered during their time in office.