The banking sector in Ghana has witnessed a concerning surge in fraud cases, with a total of 155 staff members dismissed last year out of 365 found to have engaged in fraudulent activities.

This development is attributed to the rising cases of fraud in banks and Special Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), which increased from 15,865 in 2023 to 16,733 in 2024, indicating a five per cent rise.

The total value of risk in the sector has also escalated, rising to approximately GH¢99 million in 2024, compared to GH¢88 million in 2023, representing a 13 per cent increase. 

According to the Bank of Ghana's (BoG) 2024 Fraud Report, the rate of recovery of potential losses has become a significant challenge for banks due to prolonged legal proceedings that often lead institutions to discontinue pursuing cases.

The Banks, Special Deposit Institutions and Payment Service Providers 2024 Fraud Report of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), show that the rate of recovery of potential losses has become a challenge for banks due to prolonged legal proceedings that eventually lead these institutions to stop pursuing the cases.

“This is an indication that other staff implicated in fraud activities are either exonerated or given lesser punishments,” the report stated.

However, the BoG report warned that banks were required to strengthen disciplinary policies and foster a culture of zero tolerance for fraud.

In 2024, banks reported a total count of 716 fraud cases, which indicated a 26 per cent drop from the count of 969 cases in 2023. 

The downward trend in fraud cases is attributed to the improvement of internal controls within the banking sector.

Fraud types

The report indicated that the top five fraud types recorded in 2024 in terms of value at risk were: forgery and manipulation of documents, identity theft/impersonation, ATM/POS/Card, e-money and remittance fraud.

The Microfinance and Savings and Loans sub-sectors have also seen a significant increase in the number of cash theft fraud cases reported. 

This alarming phenomenon is of grave concern to BoG, and as such, SDIs are required to enhance their internal controls to minimise cash theft. 

The BoG has indicated its concern to the banks about the consistent and steady increase in regulated financial institution’s staff involvement in fraudulent activities in the banking sector.

“Consequently, Banks and SDIs are required to strengthen their internal controls, enhance staff due diligence mechanisms during recruitment, as well as reinforce continuous in-house staff training on professional conduct,” the BoG fraud report stated.

“Banks and SDIs should also ensure the prosecution of culprits to serve as a deterrent,” the report stated.

Electronics

In 2024, the number of electronic fraud incidents recorded was 15,673, representing a seven per cent rise as compared to 14,655 cases recorded in 2023.

This indicates that despite security enhancements, fraudsters can identify and exploit vulnerabilities in digital payment products.

In terms of the value at risk, the SDI sector recorded the following as the topmost fraud cases: cash theft/ cash suppression, credit fraud, burglary and e-money fraud.

Cash theft recorded the highest value at risk of Gh¢1.6 million, a slight reduction from the GH¢1.9 million recorded in 2023.

The value at risk recorded for credit fraud saw a substantial rise in 2024, compared to 2023. The values at risk were GH¢1.2 million and GH¢0.03 million for 2024 and 2023 respectively.

Burglary also emerged as part of the top fraudulent activities in the SDI sector. The year 2024 recorded a value at risk of GH¢0.73 million as compared to GH¢0.04.