Charges revised to 21 in case against former NSA boss

Prosecutors have expanded the criminal case against former National Service Authority Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi, filing an amended charge sheet that raises the number of counts from 14 to 21.

Mr. Assibey Antwi, who headed the authority between September 2021 and January 2025, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The revised filing also adjusts the central allegation of financial loss to the state. Prosecutors had earlier claimed he authorised payments amounting to GH¢500,861,744.02 linked to more than 60,000 alleged ghost national service personnel.

In the amended charges, the state now places the alleged loss at GH¢431,761,556.76. The prosecution says the payments were made to “non-service personnel and unverified individuals”, replacing the earlier reference to thousands of ghost names.

According to prosecutors, Mr Assibey Antwi approved personnel lists sent to Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited for the monthly release of allowances.

As the authority’s principal spending officer and a signatory to its accounts, he oversaw operational approvals for payments to service personnel as well as vendors participating in the agency’s marketplace system.

Some of the new counts allege that funds intended for national service personnel were channelled into an e-zwich card registered in his name.

Prosecutors say the card received GH¢8,256,000 between 2022 and 2024. They further claim the card was not disclosed during the official handover process and was initially denied during questioning before investigators recovered it from his residence in Dome on 25 March 2025.

Authorities say transaction records show personal withdrawals from the card.

The amended charge sheet also raises questions about payments made to certain marketplace vendors.

Prosecutors allege that some vendors received funds without providing services, with portions of the money later returned directly to Mr Assibey Antwi in cash.

One example cited in the filing is an alleged payment of GH¢7,704,880.92 to Direct Savings and Loans despite claims that no services were delivered.

Investigators have also included allegations relating to the Sekyere-Kumawu Economic Enclave farm project.

The prosecution says GH¢106 million was transferred from the NSA Control Account between August 2022 and June 2024 for the initiative, including contracts for land clearing and irrigation.

However, prosecutors claim the project failed to achieve value for money, estimating a financial loss to the state of GH¢61,289,843.30.

The amended charges now include allegations of stealing, causing financial loss to the Republic, money laundering and improper payment of public funds under the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).