Audit flags GH¢8.1bn fraudulent claims, ‘fictitious’ GH¢89.4m 1D1F subsidy

The Ministry of Finance has uncovered widespread irregularities in Ghana’s public financial management system after an audit of government arrears revealed billions of cedis in questionable claims, including fictitious debts, duplicated invoices and unverified payments.

Presenting a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, Deputy Minister for Finance Thomas Nyarko Ampem, on behalf of Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said the audit exposed what he described as a deeply flawed system that allowed large sums of public funds to be claimed without proper verification.

The audit, conducted by the Ghana Audit Service with support from audit firms EY and PwC, examined GH¢68.7 billion in unpaid invoices and Bank Transfer Advices submitted by government institutions.

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According to the Deputy Minister, GH¢45.4 billion of the claims were validated, while GH¢8.1 billion was rejected due to issues including unsupported documentation, duplication, overstatements and falsified records.

“A total of GH¢8.1 billion was rejected for various reasons, including unsupported documentation, duplication, overstatements, already-paid items, falsified store receipts advice and no work done,” Mr Ampem told Parliament.

He added that another GH¢13.3 billion could not be validated due to the absence of third-party confirmation or supporting contracts.

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The audit also raised concerns about payments linked to the One District, One Factory (1D1F) programme. According to the Deputy Minister, the Ministry of Trade and Industry requested GH¢89.4 million in 2024 to be paid to five commercial banks as interest subsidies under the initiative.

However, when auditors contacted the banks, none confirmed being owed the funds.

Investigators also discovered a purported GH¢10.5 million “Buffer Account” payment that could not be traced, as the account number provided did not exist within the bank’s system. Authorities have since announced plans to conduct a forensic audit of the entire 1D1F programme.

Further discrepancies were detected in the supply of agricultural commodities. Mr Ampem said government payments were made for 34,000 metric tonnes of rice during a 2024 dry spell, yet 10,000 metric tonnes remain unaccounted for.

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Similarly, although records indicated that 100,000 metric tonnes of maize worth GH¢771.2 million had been delivered, auditors confirmed that only 11,900 metric tonnes were actually supplied.

The audit also revealed GH¢4.4 billion in recycled claims, where invoices previously paid between 2020 and 2024 were resubmitted for payment.

Mr Ampem said the findings had been referred to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice for further investigation and possible prosecution.

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“The Mahama administration refuses to accept this rotten system; in fact, we refuse to normalise waste. And we refuse to ask the Ghanaian people to pay for fraud,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance has also announced that stricter verification procedures will now govern all government payments to prevent future abuses.