Frank Marshall Cromwell, the investigator in charge of the case of former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu Boahene, has presented evidence of how the accused allegedly transferred GH¢49 million (approximately $7 million) from the bureau’s account to a private account.
In his witness statement, sighted by GhanaWeb, Marshall Cromwell gave details of the said private bank account, which supposedly belongs to Adu Boahene, the first accused (A1) in the case, and his wife, the second accused (A2).
According to him, the GH¢49 million was transferred from NSB’s account numbered 1070030677849 at Fidelity Bank into an account of the Adu Boahenes at UBM Bank, under the account name, ‘BNC Communications Bureau Operations’ and with the account number, 0241424233018.
He added that monies were transferred from the NSB account via three cheques paid into the account of the Adu Boahenes, which was created three days after the cheques were written.
“This is how A1 diverted the GH¢49,100,000.00. As Director of BNC, A1 signed three different cheques which were drawn on BNC’s bank account number 1070030677849 with Fidelity Bank. The first cheque, which is numbered 020086, had the face value of GH¢27,100,000.00. The second and the third cheques are numbered 020089 and 020094 and had the face values of GH¢1,000,000.00 and GH¢21,000,000.00, respectively. The payee on each of the three cheques was simply described as ‘BNC Operations.
“All three cheques were then paid into the bank account number 0241424233018 at UBM Bank. This account bears the name ‘BNC Communications Bureau Operations’. Investigations have established that the account — ‘BNC Communications Bureau Operations’ — is owned by BNC Communications Bureau Limited, the private limited liability company which is owned and controlled by A1 and his wife, A2.
“Our investigations also established that BNC Communications Bureau Limited had two bank accounts with UBM Bank. One of the accounts, BNC Communications Bureau Limited (number 0151424233011), was opened on October 26, 2018. The three cheques in question were not deposited into this account. The other account, into which the cheques in question were deposited, was opened on February 5, 2020, just a day before the first of the three cheques was drawn and deposited. It is, therefore, clear to us that the bank account dubbed ‘BNC Communications Bureau Operations’ was opened solely and purposely for the diversion of the GH¢49,100,000.00,” parts of the statement read.
Adu Boahene and his wife
Marshall Cromwell, who is a Staff Officer at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), said that more than GH¢9.5 million of the money was later transferred to ISC Holdings.
ISC, an Israeli company, is the supposed counterparty to the NSB in the $7 million international contract, which was for the purchase of cyber defence system for Ghana.
The investigator also disclosed that the Adu Boahenes and their associate, Mildred Boateng, the third accused in the case (A3), withdrew the monies in their private account for their personal use.
“The bank records show that from the time the GH¢49,100,000.00 was lodged into ‘BNC Communications Bureau Operations’ bank account, A1, on February 6, 2020, made a bank transfer of the sum of GH¢9,537,500.00 — equivalent to US$1,750,000.00 — to ISC Holdings. No further payments were made to ISC Holdings from this account. A1 then went on a spending spree, making substantial cash withdrawals from the account for personal purposes, and sometimes instructing the bank to allow A3 to make cash withdrawals. This continued until the amount was significantly depleted,” he said.
He said that on March 2, 2024, Adu Boahene and his wife directed the bank to close the private accounts into which they had transferred the GH¢49 million, and transfer the remaining cash to an account numbered 015126227017, which is owned by their company, Advantage Solutions Limited, the 4th accused in the case (A4).
“Our investigation established that ISC Holdings Limited did not deliver the cyber defence system to the NSB, and that NSB does not have the cyber defence system in its inventory,” he added.
Read the full statement below:
BAI/VPO
