Staff fraud in financial institutions rises 33% in 2024 — Bank of Ghana report

Staff involvement in fraudulent activities within Ghana’s financial sector surged by 33% in 2024, with 365 employees implicated—up from 274 in the previous year according to the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) latest annual fraud report.

The data, covering banks and specialized deposit-taking institutions (SDIs), reveals that internal misconduct, particularly cash theft and suppression, remains the most prevalent form of staff-related fraud.

Of those implicated, 274 employees were directly involved in this scheme, which accounted for nearly 75% of all internal fraud cases.

However, only 43% of the implicated staff were dismissed, a trend the BoG attributes to delays and challenges within the legal system.

The broader financial landscape also showed troubling signs, with total fraud cases reaching 16,733 in 2024, a 5% increase from 2023. While fraud incidents within traditional banks slightly declined, the SDI and Payment Service Provider (PSP) sectors saw notable increases.

Most alarming was the exponential rise in losses due to forgery and document manipulation, which escalated to GH¢53.5 million from GH¢6.9 million in 2023. Identity theft losses also rose nearly ninefold.

Despite these threats, only GH¢3 million of the GH¢83 million at risk was recovered. The BoG urged financial institutions to adopt zero-tolerance policies, enhance recruitment screening, and pursue rigorous prosecution to curb the growing wave of financial crime.