The Bank Ghana (BoG) annual Fraud Report has revealed that the number of staff involved in fraudulent activities in banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions (SDIs) increased from 188 in 2022 to 274 in 2023.
The figure represents an increase of 46%.
The report disclosed that out of the 274 cases of fraud recorded involving staff in 2023, 211 (77%) were involved in cash theft (cash suppression), as compared to 140 (66%) staff involved in 2022.
“The BoG is concerned about this statistic and requires banks and SDIs to strengthen their internal controls and enhance staff due diligence during recruitment, as well as reinforcing continuous in-house staff training on professional conduct,” it said.
Meanwhile, the report has further revealed the losses from fraud cases in the financial sector increased by 5 percent in 2023.
The cases increased the loss value to GH¢88 million in 2023 as compared to GH¢82 million in 2022.
According to the report, the count of fraud cases increased to 15,865 in 2023 from 15,164 in 2022.
The cases were recorded in the three sub-sectors, which include banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions (SDIs), and payment service providers (PSPs).
The report added that an analysis of the 2023 data showed that fraud heightened in fraudulent withdrawals from victims’ accounts, cyber or email fraud, and cash theft (cash suppression).
“Another area of concern is SIM swap-related fraud, where SIM numbers linked to banking accounts are fraudulently taken over and monies subsequently withdrawn from the accounts,” the report said.
The report said that this form of fraud targets individuals who have banking applications on their mobile phones and have linked their bank accounts to mobile money wallets.
While attempted fraud cases in the banking and SDI sectors declined sharply by 59% in 2023 compared to 2022, the total loss value associated with these cases stood at approximately GH¢72 million, a 29% increase over the 2022 figure of GH¢56 million recorded.
The sharp increase in the loss value was influenced by outlier fraud cases involving foreign currencies, which, when converted to Cedi, ballooned the 2023 attempted fraud value at loss.
The PSP sector also recorded a loss of GH¢16 million involving 14,655 cases in 2023.
In 2023, the loss value was 38% lower than the previous year’s GH¢26 million, while the number of occurrences increased by 20% from 12,166 in 2022.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
