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A former Director-General of the National Service Authority, Osei Asibey Antwi, who is standing trial over a multi-billion-cedi ghost names scandal, has pleaded with the court to unfreeze his daughter’s bank accounts.
Mr Antwi’s lawyer, Ralph Poku-Adusei, told the court on Wednesday that it was unjustified to have the accused person’s daughter’s account frozen when she had no relationship with the case in court.
“They have frozen the accused’s daughter’s account, which is not connected to the case, nor is she an accused in this matter. Why should that be the case?” he asked.
He also expressed strong reservations about the continued detention of Mr Assibey Antwi’s assets and travel documents.
But the Presiding Judge, Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie, firmly interjected, halting the argument.
“I will stop you right there. The detention of these is part of the bail conditions of the accused. If you want them varied, apply for it properly,” the judge said.
But Mr Poku-Adusei pressed on.
“We ask the court to vary these conditions, especially the release of the accused’s daughter’s accounts. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.”
He reminded the court of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Prosecution asks for more time
Earlier, the prosecution asked for additional time to file their final batch of evidence against Mr Antwi, who is facing 21 charges of causing financial loss to the state, stealing, and money laundering.
However, Mr Poku-Adusei objected to the request and argued that the defence was yet to be served with the documents.
An apparently surprised Justice Quarshie asked, “I gave maximum time expecting that by now counsel[defence] would have been served. What happened?”
Ms Prempeh attributed the delay in service to filing processes and noted that the documents were voluminous. She informed the court that more disclosures, including audit reports, were still outstanding.
Mr Poku-Adusei was dissatisfied with the excuse and accused the prosecution of using delaying tactics.
“They are tagging us along while they file their documents,” he said.
The judge acknowledged the complexity of the case, which involves 21 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, and money laundering, with the alleged amount exceeding GHS400 million.
Justice Quarshie, however, acknowledged that the additional disclosures had been filed on May 12 as directed.
She stressed the need for the prosecution to meticulously prepare its disclosures before the matter proceeds to full trial.
The prosecution was, therefore, given five weeks to complete filing, including audit reports, with the case adjourned to June 15, 2026.
The court’s decision followed an earlier adjournment on April 13, when Ms Prempeh informed the court that although 49 documents had been filed that morning, further disclosures were still being prepared.
Defence lawyers opposed the request at the time, citing the need for adequate time to review the materials.
Varied bail conditions
At a previous hearing, the court granted varied bail conditions to Mr Assibey Antwi.
He will now report to the Kumasi office of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) instead of Accra. Other conditions, including reporting twice monthly, seizure of his passports, and his placement on the watch list, remain unchanged.
Background to the Case
Mr Assibey Antwi’s trial is part of a major investigation into massive financial irregularities at the National Service Authority. The Attorney-General’s Department has pegged suspected losses at approximately GHS2.2 billion, an increase from earlier estimates.
The case was triggered by a 2025 investigative series by The Fourth Estate, which exposed widespread corruption at the NSA, including the insertion of thousands of ghost names into the Authority’s database. These ghost names were allegedly used to manipulate national service postings and siphon off billions of cedis in allowances.
The exposé also revealed serious concerns over value for money, data security, and the integrity of the Centralised Service Management Platform also called the Metric App.
Following the publication, the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment suspended the Authority’s central management system, leading to a comprehensive technical and forensic audit. A new digital platform has since been introduced.
The Office of the Attorney-General launched a formal investigation that relied heavily on evidence uncovered by The Fourth Estate.
Prosecutors say the probe confirmed alleged collusion between senior NSA officials and private vendors to defraud the state.
Meanwhile, the defence in the prosecution of a former Deputy Executive Director, Gifty Oware-Mensah, has run to the Supreme Court to challenge the court’s decision directing her to disclose the names and addresses of her witnesses before the prosecution opens its case.
