Ghana: Former National Security Chief Faces Trial for Embezzlement and Money Laundering

Edition : Widad WAHBI

A former senior Ghanaian security official has been formally charged with theft, money laundering, and embezzlement of funds intended to strengthen the country’s national cybersecurity, according to judicial sources.

Kwabena Adu-Boahene, the former director of the National Signals Bureau (NSB) — the agency responsible for monitoring communications related to national security — is at the center of a $7 million contract scandal involving an Israeli firm.

Mr. Adu-Boahene was arrested in March alongside his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, who also faces charges. They, along with a third individual, Mildred Donkor, are accused of conspiring to steal and launder 49.1 million Ghanaian cedis (approximately $7 million), as outlined in a document signed by Attorney General Dominic Akurintiga Ayine on April 30.

According to the prosecution, the accused claimed the funds represented the cost of acquiring a national cyber defense system under a contract signed on January 30, 2020. However, “no cybersecurity system matching the contract’s specifications was ever delivered,” the court document states.

Investigators allege the stolen funds were used to purchase and develop multiple real estate properties in Accra, Kumasi, and London, as well as to acquire a fleet of luxury vehicles.

President John Mahama, who assumed office in January, reiterated his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption, emphasizing the importance of accountability and transparency in public service.