The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has exposed a massive GH₵280 million corruption scandal at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), with multiple high-ranking officials alleged to have abused their positions for personal benefit.
At a press briefing on June 2, 2025 the Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said the OSP has unearthed through investigations started in November 2024, a deep-seated network of financial malfeasance and power abuse within the NPA, spanning the years 2022–2024.
According to the OSP, the investigation discovered that some senior and other officials of NPA had planned and carried out a corrupt scheme by capitalizing on their regulatory authority to extort large sums of money from oil marketing companies (OMCs) and other stakeholders in the downstream petroleum industry.
“This was reportedly achieved through threats, intimidation, coercion, veiled suggestions, bribery, and excessive regulatory pressure — all aimed at enriching the perpetrators,” Kissi Agyebeng noted.
Per the briefing by the OSP, as of 30 May 2025, it has traced a total of GH₵280,516,127.19 believed to be proceeds of this illicit scheme. Kissi Agyebeng alleged that part of these funds was used to acquire luxury apartments and homes both in Ghana and abroad, along with 22 fuel haulage trucks.
The OSP also found that several NPA officials had created and run their own oil marketing firms using the illegal funds, putting them in direct and unethical competition with the very enterprises they were supposed to oversee.
Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng confirmed that criminal charges will be filed against NPA officials, executives of complicit OMCs, and their directors or senior managers before the end of June 2025 who are part of the first batch of perpetrators.
“Upon filing of charges, we will provide full details — including the identities of those involved, assets acquired, and items recovered,” the OSP assured.
The Office reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption and urged the public to remain vigilant and supportive as the legal process unfolds.
Source: 3news