A major payroll fraud scandal has emerged in Ghana following revelations by The Fourth Estate Ghana that a senior civil servant allegedly received over GHS427 million in unearned salaries within a 29-month period.
The individual at the centre of the controversy, Frank Oliver Kpodo, served as Director of Procurement at the Ministry of Defence Ghana during the period under review.
The findings were contained in a report by the Auditor-General of Ghana, which examined payroll processes between January 2023 and June 2025 to assess whether only legitimate employees were being paid.
According to the report, more than 6,000 government employees collectively received over GHS800 million in unearned salaries. Notably, Mr. Kpodo alone is alleged to have received more than half of that amount—raising serious concerns about systemic weaknesses in Ghana’s public payroll system.
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The Auditor-General recommended that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department Ghana immediately remove Mr. Kpodo and other implicated individuals from the payroll and recover the funds.
Further scrutiny of Mr. Kpodo’s professional history shows he previously worked at the Ministry of Health and the University of Health and Allied Sciences before joining the Ministry of Defence in 2018.
His tenure has also come under scrutiny following a GHS4.8 million procurement deal involving six SUVs intended for border surveillance and election monitoring. Despite documentation indicating delivery, checks revealed the vehicles were never supplied.
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This matter was raised before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament Ghana, where members called for his interdiction and prosecution. He is currently reported to be serving as Director of Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Ghana.
Financial analyst Nana Kwaku Amankwah Appiah suggested the possibility of a wider network benefiting from the payments, questioning how such large sums could go undetected for an extended period.
Procurement expert Kobina Ata-Bedu attributed the issue to weak enforcement, stressing that stronger political will is needed to prosecute offenders.
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Meanwhile, development economist Peter Quartey described payroll fraud as a longstanding systemic issue, warning that failure to hold culprits accountable will only perpetuate such financial leakages.
Despite the findings, Mr. Kpodo has denied any wrongdoing, describing the audit revelations as “worrying and surprising.” He maintained that his salaries were processed through official systems and said he was unaware of any irregularities.
The report has sparked renewed public concern over accountability, transparency, and internal controls within Ghana’s public financial management system.
For 29 months, a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence received over GHS427 million in unearned salaries – an average of more than GHS14 million per month.
Frank Oliver Kpodo was at the time serving as Director of Procurement at the Ministry of Defence.
His unearned… pic.twitter.com/iuJEmcIDxF
— The Fourth Estate (@fourthestategh) April 20, 2026
Source:The Fourth Estate
