By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, June 23, GNA – An investigator with EOCO has told an Accra High Court that GH¢49.1 million allegedly diverted from the Bureau of National Communications (BNC) was transferred into a private company bearing a similar name.
Mr. Frank Marshall Cromwell, a Staff Officer at EOCO’s Special Investigations Unit and the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), said the similarity in names between the state institution and the private company could mislead persons and facilitate fraudulent transactions.
Mr. Cromwell was testifying in the case in which Mr. Kwabena Adu-Boahene, former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau; his wife, Ms. Angela Adjei-Boateng; and their company, Advantage Solutions Limited, are standing trial over allegations of stealing, causing financial loss to the State, and money laundering.
Led in evidence by Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, Deputy Attorney-General, the witness said EOCO received a tip-off in March 2025 alleging that GH¢49.1 million belonging to the then Bureau of National Communications had been transferred into the account of BNC Communications Bureau Limited at UMB Bank.
He said investigations showed that the money originated from an account held by the Bureau of National Communications at Fidelity Bank and was transferred through three cheques signed by Mr. Adu-Boahene in his capacity as Director of the BNC.
According to the witness, the first cheque, dated January 6, 2020, with a face value of GH¢27.1 million, was drawn on the Fidelity Bank account and deposited into BNC Communications Bureau Limited at UMB Bank.
He told the court that while the cheque bore the payee name “BNC Operations,” the deposit slip carried the name “BNC Communications Bureau Limited – Operations,” a discrepancy he considered significant in his experience as an investigator.
Mr. Cromwell said Mr. Adu-Boahene signed the cheque on behalf of the Bureau of National Communications and also deposited the cheque into the private company account where he served as a director.
The witness said two additional cheques dated March 18, 2020, for GH¢1 million, and March 30, 2020, for GH¢21 million, were similarly drawn on the Fidelity Bank account and deposited into the same private company account.
He said the March 18 and March 30 deposits were made by Madam Edith Ruth, then Head of Finance of the Bureau of National Communications, acting on the instructions of Mr. Adu-Boahene.
Mr. Cromwell told the court that records from Fidelity Bank showed the BNC account was opened in 2017 by the National Security Council Secretariat and operated under the name “Director BNC.”
He said documents from UMB Bank showed that BNC Communications Bureau Limited was incorporated in October 2018 and that its bank account was opened on February 5, 2020, the same day Mr. Adu-Boahene signed the first cheque transferring funds.
The witness said Mr. Adu-Boahene and Ms. Angela Adjei-Boateng were directors and signatories to the account, while Ms. Adjei-Boateng was listed as the beneficial owner of the company.
He added that investigations into Advantage Solutions Limited, the third accused person and sole shareholder of BNC Communications Bureau Limited, showed that Ms. Adjei-Boateng was also its beneficial owner.
Mr. Cromwell said Ms. Adjei-Boateng initially denied knowledge of BNC Communications Bureau Limited during investigations, despite records showing she was its beneficial owner and signatory to the account.
He said Mr. Adu-Boahene also denied knowledge of the company in his first statement to investigators but later admitted knowledge of it during subsequent engagements.
The witness further testified that after the GH¢27.1 million was deposited into the private company account on February 6, 2020, an amount of GH¢9.54 million, equivalent to US$1.75 million, was transferred to a company known as ISC Holdings in Israel.
According to him, documents presented to UMB Bank by Mr. Adu-Boahene to support the transfer contained invoice numbers and descriptions that differed from records obtained from the National Signals Bureau, leading investigators to conclude that one of the invoices was not genuine.
Mr. Cromwell said analysis of the BNC Communications Bureau Limited account showed that substantial withdrawals and transfers were made between February and August 2020, reducing the balance to about GH¢600,000 within six months.
He said EOCO’s investigations further revealed that more than GH¢14 million was transferred from BNC Communications Bureau Limited into Advantage Solutions Limited.
“We identified seven properties allegedly owned by Mr. Adu-Boahene and Ms. Adjei-Boateng at Mayfair Gardens Estate,” he added.
GNA
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku
[email protected]
Edited: by Samuel Osei-Frempong