The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has confirmed that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the first accused in a high-profile corruption case, has satisfied the bail terms imposed by the High Court. However, six other individuals charged alongside him remain in detention for failing to meet their bail requirements.
The Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra on Wednesday, July 23, began proceedings in The Republic v. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid & 9 Others, marking the official start of legal action in what prosecutors describe as a wide-reaching extortion and money laundering case involving senior NPA officials and private sector players.
The court granted bail of GHS 2 million each to all seven individual accused persons. While Abdul-Hamid secured his release, his co-accused—Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Wendy Newman, Albert Ankrah, Isaac Mensah, Bright Bediako-Mensah, and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah—are yet to satisfy the strict bail conditions and have therefore been held in custody.
The Accused
The individuals facing charges include:
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Mustapha Abdul-Hamid – Former NPA CEO (1st accused)
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Jacob Kwamina Amuah – UPPF Coordinator and MD of three companies (2nd accused)
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Wendy Newman – NPA staff member (3rd accused)
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Albert Ankrah – Director, Kel Logistics Ltd (4th accused)
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Isaac Mensah – Director, Kel Logistics Ltd (5th accused)
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Bright Bediako-Mensah – Director, Kel Logistics and Kings Energy Ltd (6th accused)
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Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah – Director, Kings Energy Ltd (7th accused)
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Propnest Ltd, Kel Logistics Ltd, and Kings Energy Ltd – Corporate entities implicated as vehicles for laundering illicit funds.
All accused persons pleaded not guilty to 25 charges, which include conspiracy to commit extortion, extortion by a public officer, and money laundering.
Bail Conditions
Bail conditions vary slightly but are largely similar. For Abdul-Hamid, Amuah, and Newman, the conditions include:
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GHS 2 million bail bond
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Two sureties (one must be a public officer)
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Provision of landed property located in Accra
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Fortnightly reporting to the OSP
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Surrender of passport to the Court Registry
For Ankrah, Mensah, Bediako-Mensah, and Acquaah, similar conditions apply, with an added requirement for one surety to submit a valid national ID to the Court Registry.
The court adjourned the case to August 26, 2025.
Details of the Alleged Scheme
The OSP alleges that between 2022 and December 2024, Abdul-Hamid, with the aid of Amuah and Newman, orchestrated a large-scale illegal extortion operation targeting oil marketing companies and petroleum transporters. According to the charge sheet, the scheme resulted in the illicit collection of over GHS 280 million.
Investigations revealed that approximately GHS 24 million was handed directly to Abdul-Hamid by Amuah, with an additional GHS 227.2 million routed through Newman. These transactions, the OSP asserts, were conducted without legal backing and amounted to the abuse of public office.
The OSP further claims that the remaining accused persons facilitated the laundering of the funds using three corporate entities—Propnest, Kel Logistics, and Kings Energy. The laundered money allegedly financed real estate acquisitions, construction projects, fuel station developments, and the purchase of distribution trucks.
A fugitive, Osei Tutu Adjei, identified as a director of Kel Logistics (ninth accused company), is still being sought by authorities.
Charges
The accused face a combined 25 counts, including:
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Extortion by a Public Officer – Section 151 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29)
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Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering – Section 23 of Act 29 and relevant provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044)
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Money Laundering – Sections 1(1), 1(2), and 4 of Act 1044
FACTS TO BE ESTABLISHED
The first accused person is the former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), following his appointment on 1 July 2021. At all material times, he was the Chief Executive of the NPA.
The second accused is the Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) under NPA. He was employed by NPA in 2008 and has held various senior management positions within the Authority. He is also the Managing Director of the eighth, ninth, and tenth accused companies.
The third accused person is an employee of NPA. The fourth and fifth accused persons are Directors of the ninth accused company. The sixth accused person is a Director of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh accused companies.
The seventh accused person is a Director of the tenth and eleventh accused companies. The eighth, ninth, and tenth accused companies are incorporated in Ghana.
In the last quarter of 2024, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) commenced full investigation in respect of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at NPA involving top managerial and other staff of the Authority regarding suspected unlawful dealings with oil marketing companies and bulk oil transporters.
Investigations by the OSP show that between 2022 and December 2024, the first, second, and third accused persons, under the colour of their office as officers of NPA, set up an extortionate scheme by which they unlawfully obtained an amount of GH¢280,516,127.19 from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies which they knew they were not lawfully authorised to obtain.
The scheme was contrived by the first accused person, who sold the idea of the criminal adventure to the second accused person, who also recruited the third accused person as the primary conduit for receiving the proceeds of the crime.
A total amount of GI Ic24,000,000.00 was handed directly by the second accused person to the first accused person between January 2024 to December 2024—being proceeds of the criminal extortion scheme. Of the total amount received by the first, second, and third Accused persons, a sum of Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million Two Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand Three Hundred and twenty-three cedis and fifty-eight pesewas (GH¢227,232,323.58) was paid through the third accused person, who disbursed it at the instruction of the second accused person.
The investigations further revealed that the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh, Accused persons, together with one Osei Tutu Adjei – Director of the Ninth Accused company (currently at large) – with the complicity of the Second and Third Accused persons, established and ran the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Accused companies – by which they proceeded to unlawfully launder the proceeds of the criminal adventure of the First, Second, and Third Accused persons through various transfers for the acquisition of movable and immovable property for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the proceeds of the criminal enterprise and to evade the legal consequences of the unlawful activity.
The Second and third accused persons transferred various sums of money directly to Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Accused companies and funded the purchase and construction of houses, the purchase of trucks for oil distribution business, and the construction of fuel filling stations.
The accused persons were apprehended and charged with the offences contained in the charge sheet.
