The trial of former National Service Authority (NSA) Deputy Executive Director, Gifty Oware-Mensah, continued on Tuesday with the cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness, Mr Gilbert Serbeh Yeboah, Head of Commercial Banking at Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Plc.
Under cross-examination, Mr Yeboah testified that the accused allegedly issued a letter authorising the transfer of funds from an NSA hire purchase account to Blocks of Life Consult Limited, a company allegedly owned by her.
Referring to a letter dated March 2, 2023, which had been tendered in evidence, the witness told the court that the document authorised transfers from the National Service Scheme hire purchase account to Blocks of Life Consult Limited. According to him, the bank treated the letter as a standing instruction to effect such transfers.
Mr Yeboah further testified that beyond the standing instruction, specific authorisation was obtained from the accused on each occasion funds were transferred. He stated that communications relating to the transfers were conducted through letters, emails, WhatsApp messages and telephone conversations.
During the proceedings, defence counsel challenged the witness’s interpretation of the letter, suggesting that it could not properly be regarded as a standing instruction covering future transactions. The witness, however, maintained that the bank understood the directive as authority to transfer funds to Blocks of Life and acted accordingly.
The cross-examination also touched on the operation of the NSA hire purchase account, which Mr Yeboah described as a suspense account established under an agreement between ADB and the National Service Authority to facilitate loan disbursements and repayments for service personnel.
He explained that repayments were largely made through the e-Zwich platform because service personnel received their allowances through that system. According to the witness, limitations in the transfer process required a portion of the funds to be withdrawn and subsequently deposited into the account by bank officials.
Defence counsel also questioned a number of cash deposits made by ADB staff into the account, as well as entries contained in bank statements tendered by the prosecution. Mr Yeboah rejected suggestions that the transactions were unusual or that the records were unreliable, maintaining that the entries reflected the operational processes of the scheme.
The witness further told the court that while he managed the NSA account, the account of Blocks of Life Consult Limited was maintained at ADB’s Gulf House branch. He added that investigators had requested and obtained the relevant banking records.
Cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness was not concluded and will continue on June 11, 2026.
