BNI picks up top GES officials, bank manager for fraud

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has arrested three top officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and a bank manager in the Agona East District for fraud.

The officials are accused of involvement in a scheme through which they allegedly defrauded the state by paying salaries to non-existent employees whose names they put on the payroll.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) names the three GES officials as Samuel Mensah, Personnel Human Resource Department; Douglas Kporbatsi, Head of Human Resource Department; and Castro Nkum, Administrative Officer.

The banker, Samuel Appah, who collaborated with the officials, is manager of a bank whose name has been withheld for security reasons.

Sources at the Agona District Directorate of the GES told the GNA that the fourth person, Paul Dzentu, Head of Integrated Personal Payroll Data [IPPD] of the Agona East District GES Directorate, an accomplice is currently on the run.

Mr Isaac Amoakwah-Boadu, an accountant at the Controller and Accountant General Department in charge of Central Region and Alfred Dagadu, an ex-agent of Izwe Loans and Paul Dzentu, who were also part of the fraud withdrew more than GH¢175,000 of state money through the ghost-name scam.

The four GES officials, who are in charge of recruitment, are said to have back-dated IPPD forms [a payment system used by the GES] of some ghost names of non-existent teachers and sent them to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.

As a result, huge sums of money were released to the bank in their names at the end of June, 2013. A source told the GNA that Castro Nkum connived with the bank manager and withdrew part of the money and shared it among the other accomplices including the bank manager.

The first cash withdrawal, the sum of GH¢170,000 was made on June 17, this year at Agona-Swedru Union Rural Bank out of which GH¢1,000 was given to each member of the syndicates, while the remaining amount was shared among the three syndicate leaders.

Reports indicate Mr Nkum attempted to withdraw the rest of the money a week later but some top officials at the bank’s headquarters, suspecting foul play, tipped off the BNI leading to his arrest and the arrest of the others.

A bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of the rest who are currently on the run, particularly the IPPD Coordinator, Mr Paul Dzentu, the ex-Izwe loan employee, Alfred Dagadu and his wife, Naomi Dagadu.