The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Ayine, has revealed that the arrest of Kwabena Adu-Boahene, the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), has to do with his alleged involvement in financial misconduct relating to a $7 million cyber defence system contract.

The disclosure was made during a press conference on Monday, 24th March, where Mr Ayine provided details on the circumstances surrounding the case.

According to the Attorney-General, Adu-Boahene was apprehended for allegedly misappropriating public funds earmarked for the procurement of cybersecurity infrastructure.

The contract, valued at $7 million, was intended to bolster Ghana’s capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats, data breaches, and digital espionage. However, investigations suggest that funds allocated for the project were diverted for personal use.

Mr Ayine explained that in his role as Director of the NSB, Adu-Boahene signed the contract on 30th January 2020 on behalf of both the government of Ghana and the National Security Ministry.

The agreement was made with an Israeli firm, RLC Holdings Limited, to supply the cyber defence system software. The procurement was seen as a crucial measure to enhance the nation’s digital security infrastructure.

Despite the significance of the project, the Attorney-General revealed that Adu-Boahene engaged in unauthorised financial transactions.

On 6th February 2020, just days after signing the contract, he allegedly transferred an initial sum of GH¢27.1 million from the National Signals Bureau’s Fidelity Bank account to a UMB private account of BNC, the private firm he set up with his wife. This transaction was reportedly documented as payment for the cyber defence system software.

However, further investigations uncovered that the transferred funds were redirected to a private company owned by Adu-Boahene, rather than being used for the intended government project.

“In his capacity as Director of the National Signals Bureau, Mr Adu-Boahene on January 30, 2020, signed a contract on behalf of the government of Ghana and the National Security on one hand and the other hand, an Israeli company named RLC Holdings Limited. The contract was for the purchase of a cyber defence system software at a price of $7 million."

“On February 6, 2020, he then transferred an initial amount of GH¢27,100,000 from the National Signals Bureau account at Fidelity Bank to a private BNC account at UMB. Official documentation on the transfer reveals that the amount was for the payment of cyber defence system software. He transferred the money to his private company.”

According to Dr Ayine, Adu-Boahene and his wife acquired several landed properties in Ghana and abroad over the period that these monies hit their private accounts.

He says Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife are still in detention and that other suspects are also being pursued for prosecution to commence.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating financial irregularities and strengthening oversight mechanisms to prevent future occurrences of such misconduct.