Mustapha Abdul-Hamid extortioMustapha Abdul-Hamid extortion trial: Key accused turns witness as OSP withdraws charges n trial: Key accused turns witness as OSP withdraws charges
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has withdrawn charges against one of the individuals standing trial alongside the former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, in a high-profile case involving the alleged extortion of more than GH¢291 million and $323,407.47 from oil marketing companies.
Albert Ankrah, a director of Kel Logistics Limited, had been accused of using his company to help conceal the alleged proceeds of the crime.
However, the OSP has now dropped the charges against him and intends to call him as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial.
Kel Logistics Limited, which prosecutors say has full legal capacity and liabilities, will nonetheless remain a defendant in the case.
The court adjourned proceedings to March 24, 2026, to allow the OSP to file the necessary processes to formally reflect the development.
The OSP has accused Dr Abdul-Hamid and two officials of the NPA — Jacob Kwamina Amuah, a coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF), and Wendy Newman, a staff member of the authority — of conspiring to extort GH¢291,574,087.19 and $323,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies between 2022 and December 2024.
According to the prosecution, the scheme targeted players in the petroleum downstream sector and involved the alleged unlawful collection of funds under various pretexts.
Three other executives of companies alleged to have assisted in concealing the proceeds of the scheme have also been charged.
They are Isaac Mensa, a director of Kel Logistics Limited; Bright Bediako-Mensah, a director of Kel Logistics and Kings Energy Limited; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, a director of Kings Energy Limited.
All the accused persons are currently on bail in the case being heard by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh.
The OSP alleges that between 2022 and December 2024, Dr Abdul-Hamid, Amuah and Newman devised and executed a scheme to extort money from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies.
Prosecutors claim the plan was conceived by Dr Abdul-Hamid, who allegedly presented the idea to Amuah, with Newman later recruited to serve as the primary conduit for receiving the proceeds.
The OSP further alleges that Amuah directly handed GH¢24 million to Dr Abdul-Hamid between January and December 2024, which prosecutors say formed part of the proceeds of what they describe as a criminal extortion scheme.
Within the same period, Dr Abdul-Hamid is also alleged to have directly received GH¢230,000 from one haulage company.
Out of the total GH¢291,574,087.19 and $323,407.47 allegedly obtained through the scheme, the OSP claims GH¢227.23 million and $17,2017.47 were channelled through Newman, who then allegedly distributed the funds on the instructions of Amuah.
Investigators say Ankrah, Mensa, Bediako-Mensah and Acquaah, together with another associate identified as Adjei, worked with Amuah and Newman to establish and operate three companies through which the alleged proceeds were laundered.
The prosecution claims the funds were moved through various financial transfers and used to acquire movable and immovable property.
“That was to conceal or disguise the illicit origin of the proceeds of the criminal enterprise and to evade the legal consequences of the unlawful activity,” the charges averred.
“Amuah and Newman transferred various sums of money directly to the companies, and funded the purchase and construction of houses, the purchase of trucks for the oil distribution business, and the construction of fuel filling stations,” the OSP stated in the charge sheet.
