New charges filed against former NAFCO boss in widening fraud case

tHE former head of its National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) and his wife have been charged with multiple counts including fraud, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state over alleged misappropriation of millions of cedis, court documents showed.

Prosecutors filed 20 charges against former NAFCO chief executive Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, in documents submitted to the High Court in Accra on 15 May.

The charges include stealing, defrauding by false pretences, abuse of public office for profit and money laundering, according to filings by the Office of the Attorney General.

The case follows the re-arrest of the couple by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) shortly after they had been discharged by the court in an earlier case.

Prosecutors allege that Aludiba fraudulently obtained 734,400 cedis (around $127,500) from NAFCO in 2017 under the pretext of rent payments for a period between May 2017 and May 2019.

He is also accused of causing financial loss to the state through the same transaction.

Court documents further allege that between 2017 and 2025, the former CEO diverted about 50.8 million cedis from the state agency through payments made to a private entity, Sawtina Enterprise, purportedly for food supply contracts.

The prosecution claims the transactions amounted to stealing and abuse of office.

In a separate set of allegations, prosecutors say payments exceeding 3.34 million cedis were made to another company, Alqarni Enterprise, allegedly owned by his wife, for purported food supplies between 2018 and 2019.

Wuni faces charges including defrauding by false pretence, dishonestly receiving and money laundering, with prosecutors alleging she knowingly received funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

The defence has criticised the handling of the case, with lawyer and former attorney general Godfred Yeboah Dame accusing investigators of denying the accused access to legal counsel and bail following their re-arrest.

NAFCO, a state-owned body tasked with supporting food security and stabilising commodity prices, has faced scrutiny in recent years over its procurement and financial management practices.

The case is expected to return to court in the coming days.