Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has indicated that the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Service Scheme (NSS) made payments to a Ghanaian Member of Parliament (MP) to prevent a major scandal involving ghost names from making headlines.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Dr. Ayine revealed that his office had gathered substantial evidence linking top NSS executives, private vendors, and other individuals to suspicious financial transactions. These transactions, he said, were part of an orchestrated effort to cover up fraudulent activities within the scheme.

"Indeed, we now have evidence of payments that were made into the accounts of the top executives of the National Service by vendors, private vendors, and staff of the scheme," he stated.

Providing further details, Dr. Ayine alleged that in November 2024, the then-CEO of the NSS, along with other individuals, facilitated payments to an MP to bury the scandal in the media and defend those implicated.

"We also have evidence that in November 2024… the CEO of the National Service Scheme and others paid a Ghanaian MP to kill the story in the media, and to defend them. Now, this is a developing story, and more of it will come out very soon," he added.

The revelation comes amid ongoing investigations into a large-scale payroll fraud scheme within the NSS, where thousands of ghost names were allegedly inserted into the system, allowing corrupt officials to siphon public funds.

This latest disclosure is part of the government's Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative, aimed at retrieving state funds lost through corruption. Last month, President John Mahama, in his State of the Nation Address, announced a nationwide crackdown on those implicated in the ghost names scandal.

"I have already tasked our investigative bodies to bring the culprits of the National Service ghost names to justice. Such brazen theft of public funds must not go unpunished. It is estimated that more than 80,000 ghost names could have yielded the suspects over GH¢50 million every month.

“Unfortunately, some of these suspects have absconded the country already, and I have directed that they be declared wanted and their assets traced and frozen until investigations are completed,” President Mahama stated.

The payroll fraud, uncovered during a nationwide audit of the National Service Authority (NSA), exposed a network of NSS officials, district directors, and payroll administrators who allegedly created fictitious names to claim salaries for non-existent service personnel.

While the Attorney General did not disclose the name of the MP involved, he hinted that more details would be made public soon.