The Workplace of the Particular Prosecutor (OSP) has charged the previous Chief Govt Officer of the Nationwide Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, together with 9 (9) others, in reference to a GH₵280 million extortion and cash laundering scheme allegedly orchestrated by the Authority.
Seven people and three company entities face a complete of 25 expenses, together with extortion by a public officer and cash laundering, following investigations initiated in late 2024. The accused are as follows:
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Mustapha Abdul-Hamid – Former Chief Govt Officer of the NPA
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Jacob Kwamina Amuah – Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) on the NPA and Managing Director of three company entities: Propnest, Kel Logistics and Kings Power
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Wendy Newman – NPA workers
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Albert Ankrah – Director, Kel Logistics Restricted
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Isaac Mensah – Director, Kel Logistics Restricted
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Brilliant Bediako-Mensah – Director, Kel Logistics and Kings Power Restricted
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Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah – Director, Kings Power Restricted
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Propnest Restricted
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Kel Logistics Restricted
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Kings Power Restricted
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In a press release dated Thursday, 17 July 2025, the OSP acknowledged that the fees come up from investigations launched in late 2024 into the alleged illegal diversion of public funds and collusion with oil advertising and bulk distribution corporations.
Based on the OSP, between 2022 and December 2024, the primary three accused individuals — performing beneath the guise of their official duties — allegedly orchestrated a legal scheme by which they extorted a staggering GH₵280,516,127.19 from petroleum transporters and oil advertising corporations.
The scheme, reportedly initiated by Dr Abdul-Hamid and applied by Amuah and Newman, had no authorized mandate and constituted a flagrant abuse of their positions inside the NPA.
The OSP additional alleged that from the extorted funds, Amuah personally handed GH₵24 million in money to Abdul-Hamid between January and December 2024. Moreover, GH₵227.2 million was reportedly channelled by Newman, beneath Amuah’s directions, for additional disbursement.
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Investigations additionally revealed that the fourth to seventh accused individuals — in collaboration with a fugitive director of Kel Logistics Restricted — established and used Propnest Restricted, Kel Logistics Restricted, and Kings Power Restricted as shell corporations to launder the illicit proceeds.
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NPA
The assertion famous:
The laundered funds had been used to buy and assemble homes, purchase vehicles for petroleum distribution, and construct gasoline stations — all as a part of efforts to hide and disguise the origin of the legal proceeds.
All ten accused events face 25 counts, together with:
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Extortion by a Public Officer, opposite to Part 151 of the Prison Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
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Conspiracy to Commit Cash Laundering, opposite to Part 23 of Act 29 and Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 4 of the Anti-Cash Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).
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Cash Laundering, opposite to Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 4 of Act 1044.
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One Osei Tutu Adjei, a director of one of many accused corporations, stays at massive and is being sought by authorities.
The accused people have been apprehended and are anticipated to seem earlier than the court docket on a date but to be introduced, at which level their pleas shall be taken.
The Workplace of the Particular Prosecutor concluded its assertion by reaffirming its unwavering dedication to investigating and prosecuting corruption and associated offences with out concern or favour. It additional urged all public establishments and civil society organisations to stay vigilant and to report suspected instances of corruption with a view to defend Ghana’s public purse and democratic integrity.
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