Ghanaian authorities on Wednesday charged a former top security official with skimming millions of dollars from a cybersecurity contract, according to a court document seen by AFP.
Prosecutors said Kwabena Adu-Boahene, a former director of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), which monitors national security communications, used the money to buy property in Ghana and Britain and luxury cars.
The charges are the latest in a corruption clampdown by President John Mahama.
Adu-Boahene was arrested on March 24 his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, who also faces charges.
The former official will be prosecuted for theft, money laundering and diverting funds from a $7 million contract to buy a cybersecurity defence system, according to a document signed by Attorney General Dominic Akuritinga Ayine.
“No cybersecurity system of the description in the January 30, 2020 contract was ever received by the Bureau of National Communications or by its successor agency”, it said.
According to prosecutors, the stolen money was “used to purchase and construct various landed properties located in Accra, Kumasi and London, and to buy a fleet of luxury cars.”
Ayine told a press conference that investigators had uncovered “another scheme” by Adu Boahene to get money from state utility firm Ghana Water Company.
He said that every two weeks, some $46,000 left a Ghana Water account intended for a National Signals Bureau account but instead went to an account controlled by Adu Boahene and his wife.
Ghana’s president, who took office in January, has vowed to reclaim public funds stolen during the tenure of former president Nana Akufo-Addo.
Officials say crackdowns, including a probe into ex-finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, mark a renewed push to hold former officials accountable for financial misconduct.
