Financial Crime World

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Frontline Staff Suppressed Cash Deposits Worth Gh¢5.75 Million

A recent report by the Bank of Ghana has revealed that frontline staff, particularly tellers, mobile bankers, and sales agents, were responsible for suppressing cash deposits worth Gh¢5.75 million in 2019.

Majority of Perpetrators Were Employees

The report, which covers fraud cases reported by financial institutions, showed that 83% of perpetrators involved in manipulating accounts and negotiable instruments were employees of these institutions. According to the report, the majority of staff involved manipulated internal accounts and dormant salary accounts of customers.

Key Findings

  • Suppressed cash deposits were a significant portion of the attempted fraud value of approximately Gh¢38.81 million.
  • Gh¢3.06 million was recovered, while Gh¢5.75 million was lost.
  • Email fraud had the highest attempted value at Gh¢20 million.
  • A cyber-attack resulted in a loss of Gh¢6.91 million.

Bank of Ghana Issues Directives to Curb Fraud

The Bank of Ghana has issued directives to banks, special deposit-taking institutions, electronic money issuers, and cheque printing companies to strengthen their internal controls and monitor staff transactions more closely. The directive also recommends that contract staff and mobile bankers be reviewed and aligned with permanent staff remuneration and working conditions.

Additional Measures

  • Strengthen the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) system.
  • Implement suspicious transaction reporting.
  • Improve cyber security infrastructure.

Banks Face Sanctions for Non-Compliance

The Bank of Ghana has directed all licensed financial institutions to implement the directives issued to curb the recurrence of fraud in the banking industry. Failure to comply with these directives shall attract appropriate sanctions.

The Telecommunication Industry has been encouraged to enhance its registration and monitoring processes to reduce incidence of fraudulent call diversion, chip swaps, and number porting.

Consumers Urged to Use Electronic Payment Methods

Consumers are encouraged to use efficient electronic payment methods that keep an audit trail of fund movements, as banks and specialized deposit-taking institutions enforce directives and due diligence on “over the counter” payments.