The former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, has been charged with allegedly stealing and causing financial loss of more than GH¢61 million meant for the purchase and supply of food items for the national school feeding component of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.
This is according to the charge sheet filed by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine.
Aludiba and the Head of Finance of (NAFCO), Richard Sam-Asante, who were signatories to NAFCO’s account, allegedly caused a financial loss of GH¢50,879,210 to the state by transferring GH¢69,616,226.29 to Sawtina Enterprise, a company in which a Regional Manager of NAFCO, James Tieku-Apawu, is a shareholder.
Sawtina Enterprise was expected to purchase and supply food items to NAFCO.
However, the Attorney-General alleged that only 20 per cent of the money was actually used by Tieku-Apawu for legitimate supplies, while Abdul-Wahab personally received more than GH¢50 million, leading to a significant financial loss to the state.
In addition to this, Aludiba is accused of stealing an extra GH¢10 million from NAFCO, which he allegedly transferred to companies belonging to himself and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni.
In total, Aludiba, his wife, Wuni, Sam-Asante, and two corporate entities, Aludiba Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, and Energy Partners Limited, in which Aludiba owns an 80 per cent stake, have been charged with 24 counts.
These include stealing, causing financial loss, money laundering, using public office for personal gain, and the intentional dissipation of public funds.
The Finance Director of NAFCO, Sam-Asante, is currently on the run. The accused persons are expected to be arraigned before the High Court later this week.
Prosecution’s case
The Attorney-General’s facts indicate that, aside from the GH¢50 million, investigations revealed that between February 2017 and February 2019, a total of GH¢5,495,748.36 was paid from NAFCO’s funds to Aludiba Enterprise, a business owned by the former CEO.
The investigation established that Aludiba Enterprise was not a licensed NAFCO buying company and had never traded or dealt with the organisation.
In July 2022, NAFCO also transferred GH¢251,050 into the bank account of Energy Partners Limited, even though the company had not rendered any services or supplied goods to NAFCO.
Additionally, the Attorney-General stated that Aludiba caused GH¢4,401,831.58 of NAFCO funds to be paid to one of his wife’s businesses, Alqarni Enterprise, under the pretext that the unregistered company had supplied food items to NAFCO, which was later found to be false.
Between February 2020 and November 2022, Aludiba is alleged to have made several deposits totaling GH¢13,213,501.52 into the bank account of Fa-Hausa Ventures, a business solely owned by his wife.
The prosecution said, “In fact, Fa-Hausa Ventures is the name and style under which Wuni trades. Investigations into the bank transactions of the business reveal that Aludiba, though not formally a partner in Fa-Hausa Ventures, is a signatory to the business’s bank account at the Republic Bank, Labone branch.”
“Further investigations into these deposits have established that the source of the monies was NAFCO, through the bank account of Sawtina Enterprise. Subsequent investigations revealed that the funds deposited into the Fa-Hausa Ventures account were used to purchase properties in prime areas of Accra, Tamale, and elsewhere,” the Attorney-General said.
The Attorney-General added that investigations had also shown that a significant portion of the funds in the Fa-Hausa Ventures bank account, in excess of GH¢161,459,987.27, had been invested by Aludiba and his wife in financial instruments, securities, and other investment products for their personal benefit.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
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