The National Service Authority’s (NSA) former Director-General, Osei-Assibey Antwi, has been granted. This comes after his first formal court appearance since the Attorney-General charged him with 14 criminal offences.

The former NSA boss pleaded not guilty to the charges, all 14 counts of financial crimes brought against him by the state, including charges of causing financial loss, stealing, and money laundering amounting to more than GHC1.5 billion.

The court, presided over by Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie, granted the accused bail of GH¢800 million with six people standing in as sureties. These six people standing in as sureties must each provide property worth the same amount as security for the bail.

Also, another condition for the bail was that Mr Osei-Assibey deposit all passports at the Court Registry and be placed on the Ghana Immigration Service stop list pending the final determination of the case. He is also to report to the Police Headquarters on the first and third Wednesdays of every month.

In reaction to the court’s ruling, Counsel for the accused, Osei Owusu, appealed to the court that his client’s cooperation with investigations since the charges were levelled against him proves that he is not a flight risk and further expressed concerns about how Mr Assibey had been unjustly vilified in the media when he is yet to be declared guilty or innocent.

He argued that Mr Assibey was a well-respected man who served the Republic in his role with integrity.

State prosecutor, and Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, on the other hand, succumbed to the bail conditions of the former NSA boss, but urged the court to consider the gravity of the offences and the significant sums involved, cautioning that the accused’s recent conduct raised questions about his willingness to appear before the court.

The court has directed the prosecution to file all disclosures, with the case scheduled to continue on December 2, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.

Mr Assibey is currently facing prosecution for fourteen charges alongside his deputy, Gifty Oware. In total, the alleged offences connected to Mr Antwi are valued at approximately GH¢615,117,744.02.

The accusations include causing financial loss to the Republic, with the main charge suggesting that he approved payments of allowances to over 60,000 ghost national service personnel, leading to a total loss of GH¢500,861,744.02.

He is additionally charged with several counts of theft amounting to GH¢8,256,000, which allegedly occurred between August 2023 and May 2024.

Prosecutors say Mr Antwi diverted project funds, authorising the withdrawal of GH¢106 million from the NSA’s Kumawu Farm Project account on five different occasions without using any of it for the intended purpose.

The hearing of the criminal case involving the former Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, and his former deputy, Gifty Oware-Mensah, has been indefinitely adjourned.

Osei Assibey Antwi and his deputy, Gifty Oware, were scheduled to make their first court appearance on Friday, 17th October, but the duo failed to show up.

Lawyers for Osei Assibey Antwi told the Accra High Court that their client had not been served with any formal notice or charge sheet regarding the case against him.

His lawyer, Paa Kwesi Kuboadzi, appeared in informal attire and explained that, “I was called about an hour ago to appear in court. That is why I am naked.”

He emphasised that they were not given prior notice and requested that the prosecution provide ample time and proper service before the next hearing. Also, Assibey’s legal counsel noted that his client was busy cooperating with the police on a separate matter in Kumasi.

However, his deputy, Oware, submitted a two-day excuse duty, with her lawyers disclosing that their client is unwell and unable to attend proceedings.

Gifty Oware later appeared in court on October 22, where she pleaded not guilty to charges of causing a financial loss of over GH¢38 million to the state.

She was granted GH¢10 million bail by the Accra High Court on Wednesday, October 22.

Meanwhile, a recent forensic audit report has revealed that Mr Assibey Antwi was enrolled in the National Service Programme’s payroll system between 2023 and 2024 as a volunteer, receiving a monthly salary of GH¢516,000 and a total of GH¢8,256,000 over the period via an EZWICH card with a unique service number (USN).

This was revealed following a forensic audit conducted by the Auditor General as part of the Technical and Forensic Review of the Centralised Payment Management System (CSMP) and Metric App.

The audit revealed that Mr Assibey was illegally registered as a volunteer to be deployed to Kumawu Farms under the service number NVPKUMAWUFARMS when he was officially working at the NSS headquarters in Accra as Executive Director.

Auditors noted that the payments were made despite the absence of any documentation proving that he performed voluntary service or managed funds on behalf of others at Kumawu Farms. The report stated:

"There is no evidence or documentation at Kumawu Farms (e.g., sign-in sheets, receipts, disbursement logs) indicating that Mr Assibey Antwi Osei received the funds on behalf of the volunteers or disbursed the same to them," the report said.

The findings, auditors said, represent a serious breach of good governance and accountability standards as set out in the Public Services Commission Guidelines and the Audit Service Regulations, 2011 (C.I. 70), which require that all public payments be verifiable, properly documented, and duly approved.

Auditors have since recommended that the GH¢8.26 million be recovered in full and that further investigations be conducted to determine whether the transactions were authorised or part of a broader payroll manipulation scheme.

The report on the National Service Authority (NSA) also revealed other irregularities involving ghost names, duplicate EZWICH registrations, and the unauthorised enrolment of over 4,500 individuals costing nearly GH¢900,000, pointing to systemic weaknesses in internal controls.