Cash suppression has emerged as the most financially damaging form of fraud in Ghana's banking sector, with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revealing that the fraud type accounted for GH¢40.7 million in value at risk in 2025, largely due to a single case involving GH¢36 million.

The disclosure is contained in the Bank of Ghana's 2025 Fraud Report, which notes that while banks recorded fewer fraud cases overall during the year, cash suppression posed the greatest financial threat to the sector.

According to the report, the value at risk from cash suppression increased dramatically from GH¢2.3 million in 2024 to GH¢40.7 million in 2025, an eighteen-fold jump.

The Bank of Ghana attributed the sharp increase to one exceptionally large fraud incident.

"Cash suppression accounted for the highest value at risk in 2025, totalling GH¢40.7 million, which represents an 18-fold increase compared to the GH¢2.3 million recorded in 2024. The significant jump in the value at risk for this fraud category was driven by an outlier situation involving an amount of GH¢36 million."

Cash suppression typically involves the theft or misappropriation of cash by employees who intentionally fail to record, deposit or account for funds received on behalf of a financial institution.

Despite the spike in value at risk from cash suppression, the central bank said the banking sector made notable progress in reducing fraud generally.

The report shows that banks recorded 472 fraud cases in 2025, down from 716 cases in 2024, representing a 34% decline. Similarly, the overall value at risk in the banking sector fell by 24%, from GH¢75 million to GH¢57 million.

However, the Bank of Ghana cautioned that the cash suppression figures demonstrate how a single high-value incident can significantly increase a bank's exposure to financial crime.

Besides cash suppression, the report identified E-money fraud, fraudulent withdrawals, ATM/POS fraud and burglary as the other major fraud types by value at risk in the banking sector during 2025. E-money fraud rose to GH¢4.6 million, while fraudulent withdrawals increased by 118% to nearly GH¢4 million. ATM/POS fraud, however, declined by 41% to GH¢2.43 million.

The Bank of Ghana said the findings underscored the need for financial institutions to strengthen internal controls, improve oversight of cash management processes and reinforce fraud detection mechanisms to prevent insider-related financial crime.

In its concluding remarks, it called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the evolving nature of fraud.

"Effectively addressing fraud within Ghana's financial sector demands a unified and sustained effort from all stakeholders (financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, and the public)."

The Bank of Ghana added that as innovation and digitalisation continue to transform the financial sector, institutions must remain vigilant by strengthening controls and enhancing fraud prevention measures to safeguard public confidence in the banking system.