Mr. Haruna disclosed that a report from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) indicated that even though there was a slight increase in the number of financial fraud incidents that were reported between 2021 and 2022, the value of losses through Electronic Money Issues (EMIs) had increased significantly to about GHC26 million.

He said that as a leading provider of digital financial services, it was MTN's responsibility to collaborate with EOCO to support and drive the quest to ensure customers enjoyed a safe environment to conduct transactions. He pointed out that the growth of MTN MoMo usage was plagued with issues of fraud necessitating the signing of the MoU to combat this issue. He expressed excitement at the joint venture as the outcome would bring relief to users.

MTN Ghana, Mr. Haruna again noted, took reports of financial fraud very seriously by working with law enforcement agencies to facilitate their investigations. "We also provide the right level of intelligence on those perpetrating these crimes for law enforcement to deliver on their mandate" he added. He said the two organizations would work together to fight emerging crimes concerning financial crime.

Executive Director of EOCO and Commissioner of Police Madam Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah said that the move was in line with the organization's new vision to stay ahead of organized crime in Ghana through collaboration with other partners. "If the criminals are working together what about those of us who are fighting?" she stated. She disclosed that about a month ago, EOCO secured the conviction of some criminals engaged in SIM card swaps by collaborating with MTN Ghana, the Ghana Bankers Associaton, and other partners."The conviction should send a signal to perpetrators that you cannot get away with such crimes," she said.

Madam Addo-Danquah said that the MoU would provide EOCO with a guideline for their activities. It would also enable MTN Ghana to provide them with training content for their officials as well as share information on new trends used by scammers due to flaws in the digital space. She said that the training programs would also involve officers from law enforcement agencies to help them build an effective investigative team.

Mr Bashiru A Dapilah, Deputy Executive Director at EOCO said that the only way to deal with organised crime was through intelligence gathering which was only possible through collaboration with the telecommunication companies in the country. He stated that aside from financial losses caused by fraudsters, the MoMo platforms were used to perpetrate other crimes.
Mr. Dapilah noted that the popularity of Mobile Banking Applications also called for collaboration with banking institutions to eliminate fraud associated with Mobile Banking.

Madam Aba Opoku, Deputy Executive Director-Intelligence, and Monitoring, EOCO emphasized that many people had suffered great losses due to MoMo fraud and SIM swapping. She said that some of these losses were facilitated by people within industries such as banks, telecommunication companies, and law enforcement. She, therefore, lauded the collaboration and urged the media to also work with them.
 
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Mobile Money Limited, Shiabu Haruna, signed the MoU on behalf of MML while COP Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo Danquah signed for EoCo.