Osei Assibey Antwi and Gifty Oware Mensah
The Attorney General has increased the charges against the embattled former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, with seven new charges, bringing the total to 21 following an amendment to the charge sheet.
Mr. Assibey Antwi is now being accused of stealing from the state during his tenure at the NSA as well as causing financial loss to the state, all totaling GH¢509,012,281 between August 2021 and February 2025.
The former Chief Executive Officer of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has been charged with six (6) counts of causing financial loss to the state, nine (9) counts of stealing, one (1) count of money laundering and five (5) counts of improper payment of public funds.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and his lawyer prayed the court to grant him bail pending the trial.
The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, did not oppose the grant of the bail.
The court, presided over by Justice Kizita Quarshie, ordered that the accused remains on his previous bail terms – GH¢120 million with two sureties.
The sureties are to deposit copies of their ID cards with the registry of the court, while the accused is to deposit his passports with the registrar.
According to court documents, the former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister paid a total of GH¢431,761,556.76 to 63,672 unverified registrants who were submitted to the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) for either payment of allowances or for payment of vendors between August 2021 and February 2025 “who have done no national service work.|
The documents said the vendors who were interrogated by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) confirmed that they received payments from GhIPSS when they had not rendered services to NSA, adding that “they refunded monies, not to the NSA, but to the accused person in cash.”
The prosecution’s brief facts further indicate that Mr. Assibey Antwi acquired an e-zwich card numbered 1177042059 linked to the NSA’s ADB account, which was issued in his name and registered using his biometrics.
He allegedly submitted the card to the GhIPSS, and from 2022 to 2024 he received a sum of GH¢8,256,000, being monies allocated for NSA allowances.
“The accused person deliberately did not disclose the existence of the e-zwich card to his successor when he presented his handing-over report,” the brief facts said.
Upon his arrest, and during interrogation, the accused allegedly denied the existence of any e-zwich card in his name.
However, on March 25, 2025, the NIB conducted a search at his house at Dome and found the e-zwich card in his bedside drawer.
“The search was conducted in the presence of the accused and his lawyer. Further checks conducted at ADB revealed that the accused had personally withdrawn monies from the said e-zwich card,” the prosecution alleges.
The brief facts also allege that further investigations revealed that Mr. Assibey Antwi authorised the payment of GH¢7,704,880.92 to Direct Savings and Loans (DSL) for no vendor services rendered, and thereafter demanded and received a refund of the sum from DSL in cash.
Again, investigations revealed that between August 2022 and June 2024, under the authorisation of the accused, a sum of GH¢106,000,000 was transferred from the NSA Control Account to the Project Account (1018631542212) for the Kumawu Farm Project.
“Various contracts were entered into by the accused person as Director of the NSA for services including the clearing of the farmlands and the development of an irrigation system. Although the contractors were paid, the NSA did not obtain value for the monies expended on the Farm Project contracts, leading to a loss of approximately GH¢61,289,843.30 to the Republic,” the brief facts added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak