OSP Recovers ₵86k In GES Salary Payment Fraud
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) says an amount of ₵86,000 has been retrieved in a Ghana Education Service (GES) salary payment fraud.
This brings to GHS 106,319.64, the total amount retrieved in such corruption schemes.
The fraud involved a former teacher, school administrators, payroll officers, and accountants.
The case stemmed from a referral by National Security to the effect that the first accused person, Yakubu Tahidu, despite no longer being a teacher, continued to receive salaries while employed by another government agency.
These individuals have been convicted by the Tamale High Court after being slapped with 17 counts of corruption, alleged to have caused financial loss to the state.
They initially pleaded guilty to the charges but later entered guilty pleas under the OSP’s plea bargaining framework, leading to full restitution and reparation to the State.
Case
The convicts have been identified as Yakubu Tahidu, a former teacher of Balogu M/A JHS; Abdulai Abukari Sadic, the Yendi Municipal IPPD Coordinator; and Sammy Suuk, a Schools Improvement Support Officer.
Also included are Mohammed Yusif Jay, the former headteacher of Balogu M/A JHS; Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, an Assistant Chief Accounts Technician at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department; and Osman Issahaku, the current headteacher of Balogu M/A JHS.
According to a statement issued by the OSP last month, Yakubu Tahidu, after vacating his teaching duty to join the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), continued to receive salaries.
The Office furthered that while Abdulai Abukari Sadic and Sammy Suuk were accused of facilitating salary validations for the first accused, Mohammed Yusif Jay, the former headteacher of Balogu M/A JHS, and Osman Issahaku, the current headteacher, validated the salaries.
Additionally, it faulted Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, an Assistant Chief Accounts Technician at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, for aiding the processing of fraudulent payments.
Their actions led to the wrongful payment of over GHS 86,000.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
