The former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, has been formally charged with 14 serious offences, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, and money laundering.
The charges stem from allegations of misappropriation exceeding GH¢600 million during his leadership tenure.
Official court documents filed at the Accra High Court by the Attorney General’s office detail accusations that Mr. Assibey Antwi authorized payments to more than 60,000 fictitious national service personnel between August 2021 and February 2025.
This alleged scheme resulted in significant financial loss to the Republic.
Facing prosecution under sections 179A(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), as well as section 1(2)(c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), the former NSA chief confronts numerous serious charges.
Central to the allegations is Count One, which claims Mr. Assibey Antwi deliberately caused a loss of GH¢500,861,744.02 by authorizing payments for the allowances of supposed “ghost” service personnel.
Additionally, he faces six counts of theft, alleged to have occurred between August 2023 and May 2024, involving the unlawful appropriation of several million cedis from the NSA accounts. Specific sums cited in the charges include:
• GH¢3.6 million on August 22, 2023
• GH¢516,000 on each of September 11, October 26, and November 23, 2023
• GH¢1.03 million on December 18, 2023
• GH¢2.06 million on May 14, 2024
Further charges allege that between January 2022 and December 2024, Mr. Assibey Antwi authorized transfers totaling GH¢8.26 million from the NSA’s Control Account to his personal e-zwich card account (No. 1177042059).
This conduct constitutes an additional financial loss to the state and forms part of the money laundering allegations, as it is claimed he knowingly handled funds derived from unlawful activities.
The charge sheet also highlights unauthorised withdrawals amounting to GH¢74 million from the Kumawu Farm Project account (No. 1018631542212), which prosecutors assert were not spent on the project as mandated.
Withdrawals include:
• GH¢55 million on September 30, 2022
• GH¢15 million on October 20, 2023
• GH¢4 million on January 24, 2024
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
