The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced the freezing of multiple assets belonging to the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, in what he described as one of Ghana’s biggest corruption and money laundering cases in recent years.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra, Dr Ayine revealed that a fixed deposit account containing GHS 10 million at Republic Bank’s Labone branch, several luxury properties, vehicles, and 61 designer handbags have been frozen as part of ongoing criminal proceedings.
According to the Attorney General, between 2019 and 2024, the couple allegedly used a network of shell companies, including Sawtina Enterprise, Alqarni Enterprise and Fa-Hausa Ventures, to siphon and launder funds from the National Food Buffer Stock accounts, disguising them as legitimate payments.
Lavish property acquisitions
Key assets linked to the scheme include a five-bedroom house at Chain Homes purchased for $1.625 million, a three-bedroom house at Cantonments acquired for $600,000, and plots of land at the Airport Development Site bought for $750,000 in cash. Construction of a luxury residence on the site — valued at $2.5 million — was later awarded to Mendanha and Sousa Construction Ltd.
Dr Ayine also highlighted the controversial acquisition of a 0.32-acre government plot through a third party, Anthony Duke Essien. The land was initially procured for GHS 307,200 but later sold to Hanan Abdul-Wahab for GHS 2.57 million using funds traced from Buffer Stock accounts. Four units of four-bedroom apartments have since been developed on the land.
Additional properties under the radar
The Attorney General further listed other properties believed to have been purchased with diverted public funds. These include:
-
A 17-bedroom boutique hotel in Gumani, Tamale, fronted through a Villa Monticello franchise for $250,000.
-
A four-bedroom bungalow in Dzorwulu, Accra, valued at GHS 4.14 million.
-
A three-storey commercial building hosting Chicken Republic at Estate Junction, Tamale.
-
A five-bedroom mansion at Kanvili, Tamale.
-
A three-bedroom house at Kpalsi, Tamale.
-
A storey building at No. 10 Selby Gardens, Achimota, Accra.
-
A 0.27-acre plot at Estate Junction, Tamale.
-
A 0.29-acre plot near Workers College, Tamale.
Scheme tied to school feeding funds
Dr Ayine said the assets were traced through a coordinated fraud scheme that diverted funds meant for the National School Feeding Programme. Payments made from Buffer Stock’s accounts to shell entities were quickly moved to companies controlled by the couple and their associates.
“All the assets identified as proceeds of crime have been frozen and will be subject to confiscation by the state as the criminal trial progresses,” Dr Ayine stated.
