The Office of the Special Prosecutor has filed multiple charges against the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and six others, in connection with what the OSP describes as a “sprawling corruption scheme” involving over GHC280 million in extortion and money laundering.
The accused persons include Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) at the NPA and Managing Director of Propnest, Kel Logistics, and Kings Energy; Wendy Newman, a staff member of the NPA; Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, and Bright Bediako-Mensah, all directors of Kel Logistics; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, a director of Kings Energy. Three companies — Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited — have also been charged.
According to the OSP, investigations launched in late 2024 uncovered an elaborate scheme operated between 2022 and December 2024 by Abdul-Hamid, Amuah, and Newman, who allegedly abused their official positions to orchestrate and run a criminal extortion operation targeting petroleum transporters and oil marketing companies.
“The scheme, initiated by Abdul-Hamid and implemented by Amuah and Newman, lacked any lawful mandate and exploited their positions within the NPA,” the OSP stated.
The OSP alleges that through this scheme, GHC280,516,127.19 was unlawfully collected. Of this amount, Amuah is said to have handed GHC24 million directly to Abdul-Hamid between January and December 2024, while a further GHC227.2 million was channelled through Newman under Amuah’s direction for onward disbursement.
The investigators further claim that other accused persons namely Ankrah, Mensah, Bediako-Mensah, and Acquaah collaborated with a fugitive director of Kel Logistics to launder the illicit proceeds using the three companies charged.
These funds were allegedly used to purchase and construct residential properties, acquire trucks for oil distribution, and build fuel stations in a bid to conceal the criminal origins of the money.
The accused individuals and companies are facing 25 counts, including Extortion by a Public Officer, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, and Money Laundering under the relevant provisions of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).
One Osei Tutu Adjei, a director of Kel Logistics, remains at large.
The accused persons have been apprehended and will appear before the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra on a date yet to be determined, according to the OSP.
