The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) today, Tuesday, December 9, arraigned former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and nine other individuals and companies before the High Court.

The 10 accused persons appeared before Criminal Court 4 to answer a massive consolidated 54-count charge sheet detailing a complex scheme involving Extortion, Using Public Office for Profit, Money Laundering, and Conspiracy

All accused persons formally pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Alleged GH¢291 Million Scheme

The charges stem from an intensive OSP investigation into an alleged extortion ring that operated between 2022 and 2024.

According to the prosecution, the first three accused—believed to be key officials at the NPA—leveraged their powerful regulatory positions to illicitly extract vast sums of money from the downstream petroleum industry.

The total amount allegedly extorted from Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and transporters in the sector exceeds a quarter of a billion Ghana Cedis:

• Over GH¢291 million
• US$332,000

This figure, when calculated at recent exchange rates, represents an alleged criminal enterprise worth well over US$24.5 million, underscoring the severity of the alleged financial crime within a critical national sector.

Money Laundering and Asset Acquisition

The OSP’s prosecution documents detail how the proceeds from the extortion scheme were allegedly laundered in a deliberate attempt to conceal their criminal origins.

Portions of the colossal sums collected were allegedly washed through three separate companies established by the accused.

These laundered funds were then purportedly used to acquire major assets, including:

• Lands and residential properties.
• Fuel stations.
• Haulage trucks for petroleum transportation.

This acquisition of strategic business assets allegedly served to solidify the criminal network’s control and disguise the financial trail.

NPA’s Regulatory Power at the Core

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA), established by the NPA Act 2005 (Act 691), is mandated to regulate, oversee, and monitor the entire petroleum downstream industry—including licensing, pricing, and quality assurance.

The regulatory authority held by the accused, particularly the former Chief Executive, provided them with immense leverage over the O OMCs and transporters, enabling the alleged extortion scheme.

The prosecution aims to prove that this regulatory power was corruptly abused for personal gain.

The OSP had earlier moved to freeze over GH¢100 million in assets and bank accounts linked to the investigation to prevent the dissipation of the suspected illicit wealth.

Bail Terms and Next Steps

The High Court adopted the core bail terms previously set by Criminal Court 3 but imposed an additional condition requiring the accused persons to report to the court’s Registrar on the first and last Tuesday of every month.

The court has directed the prosecution to file all mandatory disclosures, providing the defense with all evidence and documentation, by 12 January 2026.

A Case Management Conference (CMC) has been scheduled to manage the proceedings and set timelines for the trial's commencement.

The commencement of this trial marks a key moment for the OSP, demonstrating its resolve to tackle systemic corruption in critical sectors of the Ghanaian economy.