Ghana's state investigators and courts have demanded at least GH¢1.7 billion (roughly $146 million) in bail from persons accused of offenses against the state since President John Dramani Mahama took office in January 2025, a tally of cases analysed JoyNews Research

This figure according to JoyNews Research computation, sums the highest bond set in each case before courts intervened. After judges revised the amounts downward, the total bail amount, falls to at least GH¢833 million. The gap of more than GH¢830 million between the two is the clearest measure of how far initial demands by bodies including the Economic and Organised Crime Office have exceeded what courts would uphold.

The arrests stem from Mahama's Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) campaign, his pledge to pursue alleged corruption under his predecessor, Nana Akufo-Addo. Those swept up include former appointees, opposition politicians, serving public servants and other people charged with financial crimes against the state. None of the cases has reached a verdict.

Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine has defended the bail levels, saying the severity of an alleged offense determines the bond and that suspects who find the terms too steep may ask a court to lower them. The opposition New Patriotic Party, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and a Supreme Court petitioner counter that unreachable bail is being used as a backdoor to detention, in breach of constitutional bail rights.

The Biggest Bonds

The largest figure of the period fell on Osei Assibey Antwi, former head of the National Service Authority, accused in a payroll scandal of causing a loss the attorney-general later put in the billions of cedis. A court set his bail at GH¢800 million on Oct. 30, 2025; among the highest in Ghana's history. Unable to meet it, he was held for weeks until the court cut the sum to GH₵623 million in November and to GH₵120 million in December, which he then met. He is now on bail, reporting twice monthly and barred from travel, and faces 21 amended counts.

Kwabena Adu-Boahene, former director-general of the National Signals Bureau, was held over the alleged diversion of about $7 million in cyber-defense funds. Police set his bond at GH¢120 million in March 2025; a court cut it to GH¢80 million days later, with thrice-weekly reporting and travel curbs. His wife and co-accused, Angela Adjei Boateng, was held to GH¢80 million.

The prosecution over Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd. and the Ghana Revenue Authority, an alleged GH¢1.44 billion matter, produced six co-accused each granted GH¢50 million bail with justified sureties and weekly reporting to the Office of the Special Prosecutor. They include former GRA top officials Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Jaman South lawmaker Kwadwo Damoah. Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, since charged as the first accused, was declared a fugitive, with no local bail set.

A Case That Shifted Four Times

The prosecution of Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, former chief executive of the National Food Buffer Stock Co., and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, shows the volatility. Over an alleged school-feeding fraud put at GH¢78 million or more, EOCO first set his bail at GH¢60 million in June 2025.

After the couple's sureties were found to have used allegedly forged documents, a court raised the combined bond to GH¢150 million in October; GH¢100 million for Aludiba, with six sureties and a border stop-list. The attorney-general then withdrew all charges in May 2026, only for EOCO to re-arrest the couple minutes after their discharge. On re-arraignment, his bail was set at GH¢60 million and hers at GH¢3.5 million. He was arrested again at the airport in July 2026 and returned to custody, prompting a habeas corpus challenge.

The Oil-Levy Extortion Case

One of the earliest large prosecutions targeted Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, former chief executive of the National Petroleum Authority, and six others accused of extorting more than GH¢291 million and about $323,000 from oil marketing companies between 2022 and 2024.

A court set bail at GH¢2 million for each individual, but only Abdul-Hamid met the terms initially; others were remanded after failing to produce the required sureties, one of whom had to pledge landed property. The prosecution has since been clouded by an April 2026 ruling questioning the special prosecutor's authority to try cases without the attorney-general's clearance.

Other Cases

Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Ashanti regional NPP chairman known as Chairman Wontumi, was granted GH¢50 million bail in May 2025 over allegations of financial loss, fraud and money laundering tied to illegal mining, with weekly reporting.

Solomon Asamoah, former CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, drew GH¢15 million in the collapsed Sky Train case and was ordered to surrender Ghanaian and UK passports; his 80-year-old co-accused, former board chairman Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, was held to GH¢10 million.

Edwin Provencal, former managing director of fuel distributor BOST, was arrested at Accra's airport in November 2025 over an alleged $4.9 million loss tied to the Gold-for-Oil program. EOCO demanded GH₵60 million before charges were filed; a court halved it to GH¢30 million.

Gifty Oware-Mensah, former deputy head of the National Service Authority, was granted GH¢10 million over an alleged GH¢38.4 million matter and held about 20 days when she couldn't immediately meet it. Percival Kofi Akpaloo, who leads the Liberal Party of Ghana, was granted GH¢10 million in September 2025.

Dennis Aboagye, an aide to former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is the latest on the bail list. He was arrested at the airport in July 2026 over an alleged GH¢55 million matter. EOCO set bail at GH¢50 million; his lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, called the terms "cruel and oppressive." Aboagye met the conditions and was released on July 14.

Kwame Baffoe, the Bono regional NPP chairman known as Abronye DC, faced three speech-related arrests between September 2025 and May 2026, with bail ranging from GH¢50,000 to GH¢1 million. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, a lawmaker for Asutifi North, was granted GH₵150,000 on assault and rioting charges.

What JoyNews Research Did Not Count

Two suspects had bail conditions that were never made public: Kwaku Ohene Djan, a former deputy head of the National Service Authority detained by the National Investigations Bureau in February 2025, and Gerald Appiah, a former accountant arrested alongside Aboagye. Their exclusion means the totals bail sum could be more.

The constraints extend well beyond cash. Justified sureties, guarantors who must prove they own assets matching the bail — appear in most of the financial-crime cases and are, critics say, the real bottleneck. Border stop-lists, surrendered passports and reporting as frequent as three times a week are standard. In several cases, including the oil-levy prosecution, suspects stayed in custody after bail was granted because they could not meet the terms.