Former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi and former deputy Executive Director, Gifty Oware Mensah, have been charged for allegedly authorising payments of allowances to 69,934 non-existent (ghost) national service personnel.

According to the prosecution, between August 2021 and February 2025, Osei Assibey Antwi allegedly authorised payments of Gh¢500,861,744.02 allowances to over 60,000 non-existent (ghost) national service personnel.

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine has therefore charged him with fourteen counts of causing financial loss, stealing, and money laundering. 

Gifty Oware Mensah

For Gifty Oware Mensah, she is alleged to have generated 9,934 ghost names from the NSA Central Management System (CMS). 

After that she allegedly took control of Blocks of Life Consult Limited by making her mother's driver one of the company's directors and presented same to ADB with the explanation that she had supplied goods on hire-purchase to the 9,934 ghost names and wanted to use their allowances as collateral for the facility.

This scheme, according to the prosecution, allegedly allowed her to fraudulently obtain Gh¢38,458,248.87 from the bank through source deductions of the 9,934 non-existence allowance over 11 months. 

She has been charged with five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering. 

They are expected to be arraigned at the High Court in Accra this week where their pleas in respect of the charges would be taken.