The state has filed an amended charge sheet in the criminal case against former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, increasing the number of charges against him from 14 to 21 and revising several key details relating to the alleged offences.
Mr. Assibey Antwi, who served as head of the NSA from September 2021 to January 2025, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
A major revision in the amended charge sheet relates to the allegation of causing financial loss to the state. While the original charge indicated that he authorised payments amounting to GH¢500,861,744.02 to more than 60,000 alleged ghost national service personnel, the updated charge now places the alleged loss at GH¢431,761,556.76.
The prosecution now states that the payments were made to “non-service personnel and unverified individuals” rather than the earlier claim that they were paid to “over 60,000 ghost names.”
On the charge of abuse of office, prosecutors allege that Mr. Assibey Antwi approved personnel lists submitted to the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) for the disbursement of monthly allowances.
As the principal spending officer and signatory to the NSA’s accounts, he is said to have supervised daily operations, including approving payments to both verified service personnel and vendors participating in the NSA marketplace programme.
The amended charge sheet also alleges that some funds intended for national service personnel were diverted to an e-zwich card registered in Mr. Assibey Antwi’s name. Prosecutors claim the card received GH¢8,256,000 between 2022 and 2024.
According to investigators, the card was not disclosed during the official handover of office and was initially denied by the former NSA boss during questioning. It was later reportedly retrieved from his residence at Dome on March 25, 2025, where evidence of personal withdrawals was also found.
The prosecution further alleges that certain payments were made to vendors under the NSA marketplace initiative without services being rendered. In some cases, vendors are said to have refunded part of the money directly to Mr. Assibey Antwi in cash.
One example cited involves a payment of GH¢7,704,880.92 to Direct Savings and Loans, which prosecutors claim was made despite no services being provided.
The amended charges also touch on the Sekyere-Kumawu Economic Enclave Farm Project. Prosecutors allege that about GH¢106 million was transferred from the NSA Control Account between August 2022 and June 2024 for the project.
Although contracts were reportedly awarded for land clearing and irrigation works, investigators claim the project failed to deliver value for money, leading to an estimated financial loss of GH¢61,289,843.30.
Additional counts in the amended charge sheet include stealing, causing financial loss to the Republic, money laundering, and the alleged improper payment of public funds contrary to the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
