[Ghana] A dozen officials to be prosecuted for $53.6m payroll fraud

In Ghana, 12 former officials of the National Service Secretariat (NSS) have been charged over a GH¢548 million ($53.6 million) payroll fraud. Central to the case was The Fourth Estate, the independent investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), AllAfrica reports.

Attorney General Hon. Dr. Dominic Ayine cited The Fourth Estate's pivotal role in uncovering the scandal as he announced the indictments on June 13.

"The now-famous National Service scandal, which was first uncovered by The Fourth Estate through its investigative journalism, formed a major plank of the oral report," he said.

Dr. Ayine added, "My office is extremely grateful to The Fourth Estate for the excellent foundational work that they did."

The investigations which led to the indictments reportedly began in late 2024, when The Fourth Estate learned how 81,885 "ghost names" were inserted into the National Service Secretariat (NSS) payroll, enabling senior officials to siphon public funds.

Dr. Ayine stated that some of the stolen funds were directly rerouted into personal accounts, while others were shared among collaborating officials. "Before each service year, NSS directors submitted lump-sum payments to bolster the payroll. These sums were then redistributed via ghost accounts, cementing the scheme as recurring and institutionalised," he said.

In February 2025, The Fourth Estate published its first story on the fraud, NSS Scandal: The inside story, and followed it with a second piece, NSS Scandal: How officials bypassed validation process to stuff payroll with 'ghost' names.

The exposé reportedly became key evidence for the government's Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) accountability initiative. Led by their Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, reporters from The Fourth Estate who had worked on the NSS scandal compiled a dossier of all available evidence and submitted it to the ORAL team.

Dr. Ayine revealed that this body of evidence formed the basis of his department's investigation into the NSS scandal, which subsequently led to the indictments.

Source: AllAfrica

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In Ghana, 12 former officials of the National Service Secretariat (NSS) have been charged over a GH¢548 million ($53.6 million) payroll fraud. Central to the case was The Fourth Estate, the independent investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), AllAfrica reports.

Attorney General Hon. Dr. Dominic Ayine cited The Fourth Estate's pivotal role in uncovering the scandal as he announced the indictments on June 13.

"The now-famous National Service scandal, which was first uncovered by The Fourth Estate through its investigative journalism, formed a major plank of the oral report," he said.

Dr. Ayine added, "My office is extremely grateful to The Fourth Estate for the excellent foundational work that they did."

The investigations which led to the indictments reportedly began in late 2024, when The Fourth Estate learned how 81,885 "ghost names" were inserted into the National Service Secretariat (NSS) payroll, enabling senior officials to siphon public funds.

Dr. Ayine stated that some of the stolen funds were directly rerouted into personal accounts, while others were shared among collaborating officials. "Before each service year, NSS directors submitted lump-sum payments to bolster the payroll. These sums were then redistributed via ghost accounts, cementing the scheme as recurring and institutionalised," he said.

In February 2025, The Fourth Estate published its first story on the fraud, NSS Scandal: The inside story, and followed it with a second piece, NSS Scandal: How officials bypassed validation process to stuff payroll with 'ghost' names.

The exposé reportedly became key evidence for the government's Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) accountability initiative. Led by their Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, reporters from The Fourth Estate who had worked on the NSS scandal compiled a dossier of all available evidence and submitted it to the ORAL team.

Dr. Ayine revealed that this body of evidence formed the basis of his department's investigation into the NSS scandal, which subsequently led to the indictments.

Source: AllAfrica

(Links and quotes via original reporting)