Over GH¢548m lost to ‘ghost names’ in NSA scandal — Attorney General

The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that a criminal network within the National Service Authority (NSA) led to the loss of over GH¢548 million through the insertion of ghost names into the national payroll.

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, June 13, 2025, on the government’s anti-corruption efforts, Dr. Ayine provided an update on the ongoing investigations under the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.

The revelations come in the wake of a directive from President John Dramani Mahama instructing the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to probe irregularities at the NSA, following the discovery of over 8,000 ghost names on its payroll.

According to Dr. Ayine, the investigation has uncovered that certain individuals in positions of authority during the Akufo-Addo administration orchestrated the scheme, which he described as a “criminal enterprise” involving directors, staff, and service providers.

“In total, as stated, we lost about 548,333,542.65 to the criminal enterprise perpetrated by these executives, directors, and staff, as well as the service providers in the market.

“The criminal enterprise that resulted in the loss of this colossal loss of sum of money involved the creation of ghost names in the NSA payroll system by some directors and staff, which was subsequently exploited to misappropriate state funds for their gain,” he stated.