OSP Escalates NPA Corruption Probe: Charges Against Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and Nine Others Surge from 25 to 54 Amid New Evidence
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has dramatically intensified its crackdown on alleged graft within Ghana’s petroleum sector, amending charges against former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) CEO Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and nine co-accused from 25 to 54 counts following the unearthing of fresh evidence during ongoing investigations.
The expanded indictment, filed in the Accra High Court on Monday, accuses the group of orchestrating a sophisticated extortion racket that siphoned off GH¢297,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and marketing companies between 2022 and 2024.
The “ambush” amendments, as described by Abdul-Hamid’s lawyer Habib Khomeini, detail a coordinated scheme where NPA officials allegedly masqueraded extortion as official duties, targeting Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) before laundering proceeds through luxury assets like properties, vehicles, and fuel stations to obscure their origins.
The accused include Abdul-Hamid, NPA staff Jacob Kwamina Amuah (former Deputy CEO), Wendy Newman, Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, alongside corporate entities Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
In a bold move, the OSP has frozen assets exceeding GH¢100 million, encompassing tanker trucks, fuel depots, high-end residences, apartments, and vast land parcels, to prevent dissipation pending trial.
This seizure underscores the probe’s scope, part of Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng’s broader anti-corruption drive that has netted high-profile figures since 2023, amid Ghana’s economic woes exacerbated by fuel subsidy mismanagement.
Abdul-Hamid, 52, who led the NPA from 2021 until his 2024 dismissal, was granted GH¢2 million bail on July 23, with conditions mandating two sureties earning at least GH¢5,000 monthly and bi-weekly OSP reporting.
The case, docketed as Cr/0603/2025 (Republic v. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid & 9 Others), was adjourned to August 26, 2026, for substantive hearings, marking the second such amendment after an August 2025 revision that Khomeini lambasted as resetting proceedings to “zero” and flouting court timelines for disclosures.
The scandal has riveted the nation, spotlighting vulnerabilities in the downstream petroleum sector—responsible for 10% of Ghana’s GDP—where similar probes, like the OSP’s 2024 audit of the SML contract revealing GH¢3.2 billion in irregularities, have exposed systemic rot.
As the accused prepare defenses, the outcome could reshape accountability in energy governance, with civil society groups like IMANI Africa hailing the escalation as a “milestone in transparency” while decrying judicial delays.
