Kwabena Adu-Boahene
A Staff Officer at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Frank Marshall Cromwell, yesterday detailed how former Director of the National Signals Bureau, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, allegedly transferred a total of GH¢49.1 million from the account of the state institution into the accounts of a private limited liability company incorporated by him and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng.
Cromwell, who was part of a team that investigated the criminal allegations levelled against the Director of the then Bureau of National Communications (BNC), said the accused moved the monies in three tranches under the guise of purchasing a cyber defence system for the state.
He told the court that Adu-Boahene as the Director of BNC, signed three different cheques which were drawn on BNC’s bank account with Fidelity Bank.
He indicated that the first cheque had the face value of GH¢ 27.1 million while the second and third cheques signed on March 18 and March 30, 2020 had the face values of GH¢1 million and GH¢ 21 million respectively.
Frank Marshal Cromwell, led in his evidence-in-chief by Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, told the court that all the three cheques were then paid into the bank account of BNC Communications Bureau Limited, a company owned and controlled by the couple.
The witness told the court that EOCO investigations revealed that the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) account of BNC Communications Bureau Limited was opened at the behest of the couple, who signed documents to that effect and attached the company’s registration document as well as their identification cards.
“Interestingly, A2 (Angela Adjei-Boateng) despite being listed as a beneficial owner of BNC Communications Bureau Limited and also as a signatory to the account with UMB denied knowledge of BNC Communications Bureau Limited in the statement provided to investigations,” the witness said.
He further pointed out that “In respect to A1 (Adu-Boahene), he initially denied knowledge of BNC Communications Bureau Limited in his first statement to investigators, but upon subsequent consultations later changed and admitted knowledge of BNC Communications Bureau Limited.”
Cromwell indicated that investigations revealed that on February 6, 2020 when the first cheque of GH¢27.1 million was deposited, GH¢9,537,500, an equivalent of $1.75 million, was transferred to ISC Holdings, the Israeli company contracted to supply the purported cyber defence system.
He said UMB, which made the transfer, provided EOCO with the contract agreement provided by Adu-Boahene, and an invoice numbered NSC006.
Fake Invoice
The witness however, told the court that the invoice presented to the bank by Adu-Boahene was fake because the same invoice number existed at the National Signals Bureau in respect of a different transaction.
“We made a request to the National Signals Bureau to ascertain whether they had other records of the NSC006 invoice for procurement of a cyber defence system. From the response received from the Bureau, they furnished investigations with another invoice numbered the same NSC006 and also another invoice number 31. The Bureau’s invoice numbered NSC006 was different from the invoice NSC006 A1 presented to UMB for the transfer of $1,750,000 to ISC holdings. The Bureau’s invoice NSC006 is dated March 2020 and was for the single purchase of digitised investigative audit system whereas A1’s invoice was for the procurement of cyber defence system,” Cromwell told the court.
“A1’s invoice NSC006 presented to bank is fake as from investigations there can’t exist the same invoice numbers for the purchase of different items within the National Signals Bureau.
“The invoice number NSC006 presented by A1 had the deals as the purchase of a cyber defence system. Meanwhile from the records of the National Signals Bureau, there is an invoice numbered 32 which is for procurement of cyber defence system. This invoice is dated September 1, 2020,” the witness added.
Massive Transfers
The witness also told the court that further analysis revealed that after the transfer of the GH¢9,537,500 from the account of BNC Communications Bureau Limited on February 6, 2020, by February 7, 2020, Adu-Boahene commenced withdrawals and transfers from the account.
“From February 7 to August 8, 2020, huge sums of monies were withdrawn from the account or transferred from the account to the benefit of A1 and other parties. As at August 8, 2020, the balance in the account was just about GH¢600,000. That is within six months A1 and A2 dissipated almost all the funds in the account,” Cromwell said.
The witness tendered in evidence pictorial diagram of the transfers in the account of BNC Communications Bureau Limited, adding that “due to the withdrawals and transfer of funds within a short period, we had to develop this chart to identify the flow of funds from the account.”
Hearing continues on June 29, 2026.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak