The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), an independent anti-corruption agency in Ghana, has charged the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Sheikh Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and nine others, including three companies, for their alleged involvement in extortion and money laundering within the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), an allegation Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has denied.
The suspects are expected to be put before the Criminal Division 3 of the High Court in Accra on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
According to the OSP, the accused allegedly used their official positions to orchestrate a scheme that unlawfully diverted funds from petroleum transporters and oil marketing companies between 2022 and December 2024.
The other suspects are Jacob Kwamina Amuah (UPPF Coordinator at NPA), Wendy Newman (NPA staff), Albert Ankrah (Director, Kel Logistics Limited), Isaac Mensah (Director, Kel Logistics Limited), Bright Bediako-Mensah (Director, Kel Logistics Limited and Kings Energy), Kweku Aboagye Acquah (Director, Kings Energy), Prosnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
The OSP identified Mr. Jacob Kwamina Amuah, the Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF), who also served as managing director of three implicated entities—Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited—as the key architect of the alleged scheme.
According to the OSP, Amuah, acting with the knowledge and direction of Abdul-Hamid and an NPA staff member, Wendy Newman, illicitly collected over GHC280 million under the guise of official duties. The funds were collected from petroleum transporters and bulk distribution companies under the pretense of regulatory requirements.
The OSP revealed that Amuah handed over GHC24 million directly to Abdul-Hamid between January and December 2024. A further GHC227.2 million was funneled through Newman at Amuah’s direction for additional disbursement.
The OSP noted that none of the accused had a lawful mandate for these actions, which were carried out by exploiting their positions at the NPA.
However, the former Chief Executive Officer of NPA has vehemently denied the allegations and stated his readiness to face the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in court to defend his integrity.
In a statement issued by his lawyer, Hanifa Yahaya from Hay & Partners at Law, it was said, “Our client is ready to contest all the allegations in the court of law and defend his good name.”
He recalled that the OSP, in February 2025, said in a press conference that “our client was under investigation for alleged embezzlement of GHC1.3 billion from the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF).” He said that in a letter dated February 17, 2025, our client wrote to the Special Prosecutor, demanding a retraction of that defamatory publication, but the OSP failed to retract the defamatory publication.
According to the lawyer, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid was subsequently invited to the OSP on February 25, 2025, and questioned over allegations of mismanagement of the UPPF and procurement breaches.
He expressed surprise that the allegation has now changed from embezzlement from the UPPF, mismanagement of the UPPF, and procurement breaches to the current one, which is extortion of funds from unnamed victims; the amount involved in the allegations against our client has also changed from GHC1.3 billion to GHC280 million.
According to the lawyer, NPA has four main accounts, namely, UPPF, PDM, PPMS, and Operational Account, stating that funds in these four accounts had exponentially increased as of December 31, 2024.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
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