According to the Bank of Ghana’s latest annual fraud report, staff involvement in fraud within Ghana’s financial institutions jumped by 33% in 2024.
The report, covering banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), revealed that 365 employees were implicated in fraud last year, up from 274 in 2023. Cash theft and suppression dominated the offenses, with 274 staff involved in this form of misconduct alone, accounting for 75% of all internal fraud cases.
However, only 43% of these employees were dismissed. The BoG linked this low figure to prolonged legal procedures that often discourage full prosecution.
Raising an alarm, the central bank urged financial institutions to tighten recruitment processes and pursue diligent prosecution of fraudsters. It emphasized the need for banks and SDIs to take stronger action against staff misconduct.
Overall, fraud across the financial sector also rose. Institutions reported 16,733 fraud cases in 2024, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. While bank-related fraud declined slightly, cases surged in the SDI and Payment Service Provider (PSP) sectors.
Forgery and document manipulation saw the steepest rise in value at risk, ballooning to GH¢53.5 million in 2024 from GH¢6.9 million in 2023. Identity theft losses also increased nearly ninefold.
Despite the growing risks, BoG noted that institutions recovered only GH¢3 million out of the GH¢83 million at risk. The report called for a zero-tolerance approach to internal fraud and stronger collaboration among stakeholders to curb financial crime.
