Ghana’s anti-corruption agency has charged a former head of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and six others in connection with a $28 million corruption and money laundering scheme, officials announced on Thursday.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) filed 25 charges against Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, who led the NPA, along with six individuals and three companies. This marks a major step in President John Mahama’s anti-graft campaign, launched in early 2025 to recover misappropriated public funds and restore integrity to public institutions.
The OSP accused Abdul-Hamid of orchestrating a “sprawling corruption scheme” between 2022 and December 2024. He allegedly received $2.3 million personally and benefitted from a wider extortion operation totalling $28 million.
Abdul-Hamid, however, rejected the allegations. “I have never taken a bribe or been part of any illicit scheme during my time at the NPA,” he told AFP by phone. “I am willing to cooperate with the state to clear my name in court.”
Among the key accused are Jacob Kwamina Amuah, former coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund, and Wendy Newman, an NPA staff member. The OSP described them as central figures in the operation.
The pair allegedly collected illicit payments from oil marketing firms and transporters, channelling the funds through front companies to conceal the origin of the money. The three companies implicated — Propnest Ltd., Kel Logistics Ltd., and Kings Energy Ltd. — reportedly used the funds to buy houses, construct fuel stations, and acquire oil trucks.
One director of Kel Logistics Ltd. is currently on the run, the OSP noted.
President Mahama, who returned to office in January, has vowed to hold public officials accountable and retrieve looted state assets. However, the campaign has raised questions among some observers.
“Mahama’s credibility depends on how even-handed these prosecutions are. Ghanaians are watching whether this is genuine reform or a political purge in disguise,” said Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, a political analyst at the University of Ghana.
Since the campaign’s launch, authorities have arrested or charged several individuals, with dozens more still under investigation.