The Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has revealed that the Auditor-General uncovered the payment of GH¢9.4 million by the Ministry of Finance based on forged documentation.
Addressing Parliament on Tuesday during the 21st Sitting of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr Ampem Nyarko said auditors detected irregular transactions supported by falsified documents.
“Speaker, auditors uncovered transactions worth GH¢9.4 million supported by forged Stores Receipt Advices (SRAs) that had been used to justify requests for payment for goods that were not delivered at the time,” he said.
According to the Deputy Minister, the documentation presented for the payment claimed that the Ministry of Defence had procured vehicles for a border patrol exercise.
“A contract between the Ministry of Defence and a company for vehicles intended for border surveillance and monitoring of the 2024 general election revealed that despite the issuance of a Stores Receipt Advice (SRA), an official document confirming that goods have been received, dated 12th October 2024, the vehicles were never delivered,” he stated.
Mr Ampem Nyarko said the Auditor-General’s findings confirmed that the vehicles were never purchased despite the payment being made.
He further disclosed that a similar case involving falsified documentation had been detected at the Judicial Service.
“Similarly, the Judicial Service appeared to be caught in a web of falsified Stores Receipt Advice. While an SRA dated 25th October, 2024 claimed the receipt of 7 Toyota saloon cars, as soon as the audit was initiated, the supplier wrote to the Judicial Service on 10th April, 2025, indicating their inability to supply the said vehicles as scheduled,” he said.
He added that the cases highlight a wider pattern of fraud involving forged documentation submitted to secure payments from the state.
“This shows that fraudulent documents were submitted to the Ministry of Finance for payment,s and steps have been taken to avoid a recurrence,” he stated.
“Speaker, these cases illustrate a disturbing pattern of fraud designed to deprive the people of Ghana of hundreds of millions of cedis of public funds at risk,” Mr Ampem Nyarko lamented.
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