A report by the Bank of Ghana(BoG) on Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions(SDIs) has revealed that more and more of their staff are involved in fraudulent activities.
The 2023 Fraud Report shows an increase in the number of fraud cases involving workers; staff-related fraud from banks and SDIs shot up from 188 in 2022 to 274 in 2023, amounting to a 46% increase.
The most rampant fraudulent activity identified was the stealing of cash ( known as cash theft or cash suppression). Cases of cash theft – the concealment and diversion of cash deposits or cash received from customers – were 211 out of 274 overall cases of fraud.
Losses to the banks as a result of cash theft amounted to 14.8 million. This amount is over fourteen times the amount stolen in 2022.
The Bank of Ghana has advised banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions to step up efforts aimed at tackling fraud in general and staff-related fraud in particular given the worrying trend.
The Central Bank urged these institutions to strengthen their internal controls and continuous professional training and do better due diligence during the recruitment of staff.
Even though the overall cases of fraud were reduced by 17%, the amount in losses increased by 21%, the bank noted.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
