The former chief executive of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has been named in a $28 million extortion and money laundering scheme, involving six others and three companies.

An official statement by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) confirmed the charges were filed before the High Court’s Criminal Division in Accra on Thursday. 

Ghana’s special prosecutor slammed the seven individuals and three companies (which include a prominent logistics and two energy firms) with 25 counts of offences, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and extortion by a public officer. 

The OSP alleged that the illegal scheme, which ran from 2022 to December 2024, was orchestrated by Abdul-Hamid, alongside Jacob Kwamina Amuah, former Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF), and NPA staffer Wendy Newman. 

All three officials are said to have leveraged their influence to extort more than GHC280.5m from petroleum transporters and oil marketing companies. 

“The scheme, initiated by Abdul-Hamid and implemented by Amuah and Newman, lacked any lawful mandate and exploited their positions within the NPA,” the OSP said.

Amuah, according to the statement, is said to have given the sum of $2.3 million to Abdul-Hamid, including another $21.8 million, which he sent through Newman under his direction. 

Investigators said these monies were laundered through Kings Energy Ltd., Propnest Ltd., and Kel Logistics Ltd., to procure trucks, build fuel stations and houses. The directors of these companies have also been charged. 

However, Abdul-Hamid has denied any wrongdoing. 

“I have never solicited nor received any illegal payments in the performance of my duties,” he said. “I welcome the opportunity to clear myself in court.”

Ghana’s new anti-corruption wave

Moreover, this corruption scandal marks a major move in President John Mahama’s anti-graft efforts which have intensified in recent weeks, targeting even members of his party. 

Mahama’s administration is pushing what it calls “Operation Recover All Loot”, an aggressive effort aimed at investigating and prosecuting financial crimes allegedly committed under the previous government.

Ghana loses an estimated $3 billion annually to corruption, according to the country’s Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) group. 

Since assuming a non-consecutive second term, Mahama has repeatedly criticised former President Nana Akufo-Addo for implementing regulatory bottlenecks that deterred significant investment into the country’s oil and gas sector. 

Ghana’s oil production has seen a steady decline since 2019 because of low investment, amidst a huge energy debt. 

In May 2025, he urged oil and companies in the country to pump “like there is no tomorrow”, stressing the urgency to capitalize on existing reserves before the global shift to renewable energy diminishes their value.

“I will lay a red carpet to anybody who wants to drill and pump oil because in the next decade or two, the world would have made a transition to renewables,” he said. 

As part of broader reforms to boost investor confidence, the president has also recently appointed a new governing board for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). 

While many popular anti-corruption experts across Ghana are hailing Mahama’s anti-graft campaign as the most decisive step seen in years, the effort risks internal conflicts within his own party—the ruling NDC— if political heavyweights are hunted down.