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Els MBN360 News
Ghana’s Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has announced that Percival Kofi Akpaloo, founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana, and his wife, Delvin Akpaloo, will face prosecution over a GH¢3.17 million cheque diversion scheme involving a COCOBOD contract. The investigation revealed that Akpaloo secretly incorporated a company with a nearly identical name to the legitimate contractor, Pomaa Universal Ghana Limited, and diverted eight COCOBOD cheques meant for the original company between December 2022 and June 2024.
The legitimate contractor, Ekua Pomaa, was unaware of the diversion until COCOBOD contacted her about outstanding balances in June 2024. Akpaloo allegedly forged Pomaa’s signature on the COCOBOD contract using her former name, Mercy Owusu. First Bank Ghana Limited’s internal investigation confirmed the fraud allegations, citing operational failures in detecting discrepancies ¹ ² ³.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) launched investigations after the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) flagged suspicious transactions. Dr. Ayine stated that evidence points to stealing, forgery, and money laundering, and charges will be filed upon resumption of work after the Christmas holidays.
The Attorney-General disclosed that Mr. Akpaloo allegedly secretly incorporated another company with a nearly identical name, differing only by the addition of the letter “H”, and used it to divert funds meant for the original contractor.
He explained that between December 2022 and June 2024, Mr. Akpaloo collected eight cheques issued by COCOBOD in the name of the legitimate company, POMAA Universal Ghana Limited, and deposited them into the account of his own look-alike company at FirstBank Ghana Limited.
Investigations further revealed that Akua Pomaa was unaware of both the existence of the second company and the diversion of the funds until COCOBOD contacted her in June 2024 about outstanding balances on the contract. She later alleged that Mr. Akpaloo forged her signature on the COCOBOD contract using her former name, Mercy Owusu, without her consent.
Mr. Ayine said FirstBank Ghana Limited conducted its own internal investigations, which confirmed the fraud allegations, and admitted operational failures in detecting discrepancies between cheque payee names and the accounts into which the cheques were deposited.
The suspects named in the case include Percival Kofi Akpaloo, his company, the look-alike firm, and his wife. The Attorney-General said evidence points to offences including stealing, forgery, and money laundering, and charges will be filed by his office upon resumption of work.
