The NPA – UPPF Scandal

Case Reference : CR/0030/2026 Republic v. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid & 9 Ors

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has charged five (5) individuals and three companies in connection with suspected corruption and money laundering offences at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), involving unlawful payments totalling Two Hundred and Ninety-One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand, Eighty-Seven Cedis and Nineteen Pesewas (GH¢291,574,087.19) and Three Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Seven United States Dollars and Forty-Seven Cents (US$332,407.47).

Accused Persons

1. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid – Former Chief Executive Officer of the NPA
    
2. Jacob Kwamina Amuah – Former UPPF Coordinator and MD of Propnest Ltd, Kel Logistics Ltd and Kings Energy Ltd.
    
3. Wendy Newman – Staff member, NPA
    
4. Bright Bediako-Mensah – CEO of Kel Logistics, Propnest Ltd and Kings Energy Ltd.
    
5. Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah – Director of Kings Energy Ltd, Propnest Limited and Kel Logistics Ltd.
    
6. Propnest Limited
    
7. Kel Logistics Limited
    
8. Kings Energy Limited

Note: Two individuals—Albert Ankrah (Director/Shareholder of Propnest Limited) and Isaac Mensah (Director/sole shareholder of Kings Energy Ltd)—are no longer listed as accused persons. They have engaged with the Prosecution and are expected to testify as witnesses for the Prosecution.

Charges
A total of fifty-four (54) charges have been filed. The accused persons are charged jointly and severally with the following offences:

• Corruption and corruption-related offences contrary to sections 252 and 254 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as amended;
   
• Extortion contrary to section 151 of Act 29;
   
• Money laundering contrary to section 1(1)(a) and (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044); and
   
• Conspiracy to commit a crime contrary to section 23(1) of Act 29.
   

In total, the accused face multiple counts of corruption, extortion, money laundering, and conspiracy.

Facts of the Case
The First Accused person was at all material times the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), following his appointment on 1 July 2021. The Second Accused was at all material times the Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) under NPA. He was employed by NPA in 2008 and has held various senior management positions within the Authority. He is also the Managing Director of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Accused companies.

The Third Accused person is an employee of NPA. The Fourth Accused person is a Secretary of the Sixth and Seventh Accused companies. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Accused Companies. The Fifth Accused person is a Director of the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Accused companies. The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Accused companies are incorporated in Ghana.

In the last quarter of 2024, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) commenced full investigation in respect of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at NPA involving top managerial and other staff of the Authority regarding suspected unlawful dealings with oil marketing companies and bulk oil transporters. Investigations by the OSP show that between 2022 and December 2024, the First, Second and Third Accused persons, under the colour of their office as officers of NPA, set up an extortionate scheme by which they unlawfully obtained an amount of Two Hundred and Ninety-One Million Five Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand Fighty-Seven Cedis and Nineteen Pesewas (GH¿291,574,087.19) and Three Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand Four Hundred and Seven United States Dollars and Forty-Seven Cents (US$332,407.47) from Thirty-Five (35) bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies which they knew they were not lawfully authorised to obtain.

The scheme was contrived by the First Accused person, who sold the idea of the criminal adventure to the Second Accused person, who also recruited the Third Accused person as the primary conduit for receiving the proceeds of the crime. A total amount of Thirty-Six Million Cedis (GH$36,000,000.00) was handed directly by the Second Accused person to the First Accused person between January 2024 to December 2024 - being proceeds of the criminal extortion scheme. Within the same period, the First Accused person also directly received the sum of Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Cedis (GH¢230,000.00) from one oil haulage company. Of the total amount received by the First, Second and Third Accused persons, a sum of Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million Iwo Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand Three Hundred and Twenty-Three Cedis Fifty-Eight Pesewas (GH¢227,232,323.58) and a sum of Seventeen Thousand Two Hundred and Seven United States Dollars and Forty-Seven Cents (US$17,207.47) were paid through the Third Accused person, who disbursed it at the instruction of the Second Accused person.

The investigations further revealed that the Fourth and Fifth Accused persons, together with one Osei Tutu Adjei - Director of the Seventh Accused company (currently at large) - with the complicity of the Second and Third Accused persons, established and tan the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Accused companies - by which they proceeded to unlawfully launder the proceeds of the criminal adventure of the First, Second, and Third Accused persons through various transfers for the acquisition of movable and immovable property for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the proceeds of the criminal enterprise and to evade the legal consequences of the unlawful activity. The Second and Third Accused persons transferred various sums of money directly to the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Accused companies and funded the purchase of lands, the construction of houses, the purchase of trucks for oil distribution business, and the construction of fuel filling and service stations in pursuance of the criminal adventure. Based on the facts above, the accused persons have been arrested and charged with the offences contained in the charge sheet.