Ghana’s system is broken and naked – Bright Simons on NSB finance director testimony

Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, reacted to a testimony in the Adu Boahene case. The Director of Finance at the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Edith Ruby Opokua Adumuah, testified about her role in the GH¢49 million case.

Simons stated that her testimony shows the system is broken and exposed. Adumuah revealed that Adu-Boahene instructed her to write cheques. She later handed these cheques to account signatories.

Adumuah mentioned that the first cheque for GH¢49 million was issued on February 6, 2022. This was done under Adu-Boahene's instruction. She did not have clearance to verify documentation or payment reasons.

She wrote a cheque for GH¢27.1 million with "BNC Operations" as the payee. Later, she discovered this account belonged to Adu-Boahene and his wife at UMB Bank.

In her statement, Adumuah said she learned during questioning that this cheque went into an account named ‘BNC Communications Bureau-Operations.’ This account was owned by a private company controlled by Adu-Boahene and his wife.

On March 18, 2020, she wrote another cheque for GH¢1 million for BNC’s account at Fidelity Bank. On March 30, she wrote a third cheque for GH¢21 million for the same account. Both cheques were also written under Adu-Boahene's instructions.

Adumuah believed "BNC Operations" was an operational account she couldn't access due to security clearance issues. She can identify copies of three specific cheques related to these transactions.

Bright Simons responded on X, stating that Adumuah's testimony confirms his view of a broken system. He noted it is shocking that the Head of Finance lacks security clearance to verify payments.

He emphasized there are zero financial controls in place and described significant fraud within Ghana's national security system. Simons expressed concern over such fraud occurring in a key agency responsible for national security.

Kwabena Adu Boahene and his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng face charges including theft and money laundering. They allegedly stole state funds totaling GH¢49 million.

The Attorney General filed eleven charges against them and two others at the High Court in Accra.