Ghana: 16 suspects arrested, churches used to print counterfeit bills

In a statement released on Tuesday, September 22, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) indicated that the operations took place between June 12 and July 24 after several months of surveillance. Four printing machines, six vehicles, and two motorcycles were seized. The suspects, both Ghanaians and foreigners, have been detained, and the cases have been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

The seizures include $543,000, 196,600 cedis, and 60,000 CFA francs presented as counterfeit bills ready to be circulated. Agents also recovered unprocessed coupons with a face value of $5.29 million, 19.55 million cedis, and 623.55 million CFA francs. Authorities maintain this distinction between completed bills and unprinted materials.

One of the most sensitive aspects of the investigation involves Klagon. Following an operation in Lashibi, security services say they traced the operation back to the headquarters of a religious organization where administrative offices and residences were allegedly used for production and storage. Reverend Emmanuel Boakye-Danquah is wanted in connection with this case, according to the NSCS. The allegations against him are yet to be examined by the judiciary.

Investigators describe organized networks with various roles: cross-border facilitators, technicians responsible for printing, and couriers, including those using motorcycles to deliver the counterfeit bills. In a separate operation, seven suspects, including four foreigners, were apprehended with $65,900 in counterfeit currency, according to the statement.

Prosecutions are now underway in the High Court of Accra. The NSCS specifies that the sixteen individuals arrested have been placed under warrant, and confiscation procedures are targeting the vehicles, printing equipment, and certain devices seized. Searches continue to locate other suspects identified during the investigation.