The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has charged seven individuals and three companies before the High Court (Criminal Division) in Accra over including the Former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Mustapha Abdul- Hamid, over their alleged involvement in a wide-ranging extortion and money laundering scheme within the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
The individuals charged include: Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) at the NPA and Managing Director of Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited; Wendy Newman, an NPA staff member; Albert Ankrah, Director of Kel Logistics Limited; Isaac Mensah, Director of Kel Logistics Limited; Bright Bediako-Mensah, Director of both Kel Logistics and Kings Energy Limited; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Director of Kings Energy Limited. The companies charged are Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
According to the OSP, the charges follow investigations launched in late 2024 into alleged unlawful conduct involving the diversion of public funds and collusion with oil marketing and bulk distribution companies.
Between 2022 and December 2024, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Jacob Amuah, and Wendy Newman allegedly orchestrated and operated a criminal extortion scheme through which they unlawfully collected GHC280,516,127.19 from petroleum transporters and oil marketing companies.
The scheme, initiated by Abdul-Hamid and executed by Amuah and Newman, was not backed by any legal mandate and allegedly exploited their official positions within the NPA.
The investigations revealed that Jacob Amuah handed GHC24 million directly to Abdul-Hamid between January and December 2024. Additionally, a sum of GHC227.2 million was passed through Wendy Newman under Amuah’s direction for further distribution.
Further inquiries uncovered that Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, in collaboration with a fugitive director of Kel Logistics Limited, created and used Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited as vehicles for laundering the illicit proceeds. These funds were reportedly used to purchase and construct residential properties, acquire trucks for an oil distribution business, and build fuel stations—all in efforts to conceal the criminal origins of the money.
The accused face 25 counts, including extortion by a public officer contrary to Section 151 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); conspiracy to commit money laundering, contrary to Section 23 of Act 29 and Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044); and money laundering, contrary to Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 4 of Act 1044.
One Osci Tutu Adjci, a director of Kel Logistics Limited, is currently at large.
All the accused have been apprehended and are expected to appear before the High Court on a date to be set for their pleas to be taken.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor in a statement said, “The OSP reaffirms its commitment to investigating and prosecuting corruption and corruption-related offences without fear or favour, and urges all public institutions to remain vigilant and report suspected cases of corruption.”