The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has raised concerns about the sharp rise in bank staff involvement in fraudulent activities. According to the BoG’s 2023 Annual Fraud Report, the number of staff involved in fraud increased from 188 in 2022 to 274 in 2023, a 46% rise.
A significant 77% of these cases were related to cash theft or suppression. In response, the BoG has urged banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) to strengthen their internal controls, improve their recruitment processes, and provide ongoing training on professional conduct.
The report also shows that fraud cases increased in areas such as unauthorized withdrawals from customers’ accounts, cyber or email fraud, and cash theft.
Although attempted fraud cases in banks and SDIs dropped by 59% in 2023 compared to 2022, the total losses from these cases reached approximately GH¢72 million. This represents a 29% increase from the GH¢56 million reported in 2022.
The sharp rise in losses was driven by large fraud cases involving foreign currencies, which, when converted to Cedi, significantly increased the total value of attempted fraud in 2023.
Additionally, the Payment Service Providers (PSP) sector recorded losses of GH¢16 million from 14,655 fraud cases in 2023.
Although the total loss in 2023 was 38% lower than the GH¢26 million recorded the previous year, the number of cases increased by 20%, up from 12,166 cases in 2022.
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