The Biggest Ponzi Schemes and Investment Scandals in Ghana’s History

A 2026 Intelligence Brief from Accra Street Journal

Executive Summary

Ghana’s financial history is punctuated by a series of spectacular collapses—schemes that promised guaranteed returns, recruited through trusted networks, and left hundreds of thousands of citizens financially devastated. From the colonial-era fiction of the Oman Ghana Trust Fund to the modern-day digital frauds masquerading as investment platforms, the patterns remain remarkably consistent: unrealistic returns, vague business models, unlicensed operations, and the exploitation of trust.

The scale is staggering. Between 2015 and 2019 alone, Ghana’s financial sector clean-up cost the state GH¢21 billion, with victims numbering in the hundreds of thousands . The SEC itself has noted that Ponzi schemes are “not a new phenomenon” in Ghana, and that their persistence demonstrates how such deception “preys on flaws in human nature and social structures” .

This ASJ report documents the most significant Ponzi schemes and investment scandals in Ghana’s history, examining their mechanics, the regulatory failures that allowed them to thrive, and the lessons for today’s investors. The evidence suggests that while schemes evolve—from gold collectables to microfinance to cryptocurrency—the fundamentals of fraud remain constant. Understanding this history is the best defence against becoming its next victim.

Part 1: The Grandfather of Ghanaian Fraud — The Oman Ghana Trust Fund (1970s–1980s)

The Fiction

Before DKM, before Menzgold, before the “Gold AI Rise Platform,” there was the Oman Ghana Trust Fund—arguably the biggest financial scam of twentieth-century Ghana .

The mastermind was John Ackah Blay-Miezah, a charismatic con man who concocted an elaborate tale: Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, had secretly moved millions of dollars in cash and gold to safe vaults abroad before his overthrow. According to Blay’s story, Nkrumah, on his deathbed, had revealed the existence of the stash to his sole remaining confidante—Blay-Miezah himself—and directed him to bring the wealth back to Ghana at the opportune time .

The fund was called the Oman Ghana Trust Fund.

The Deception

Blay-Miezah was not a doctor. He had stolen another man’s educational qualifications, including the appellation of ‘Doctor.’ He had been jailed for fraud in Ghana and in the United States. He had cheated several unsuspecting souls. But his charm and confidence overrode all evidence.

When he revealed his story confidentially to Ghana’s military dictator in 1974, it seemed like a providential answer to the multiple crises threatening the country. The colonel gave Blay a carte blanche to bring back Ghana’s hidden treasure .

Given official imprimatur, Blay cleverly spread the fiction about the Trust Fund. The ‘golden future’ it portended for every Ghanaian earned him huge influence and popularity. The effects of the story overseas were equally significant .

The Victims

Promising astronomical returns, Blay enticed investors in the US, Europe, and even as far away as South Korea to park millions of dollars with him. From poor widows and small-time punters to millionaires and shady bankers, hundreds were conned into parting with their money .

Having built a network of dubious allies across continents, he played on the greed of his backers for whom the dream of windfall returns was too tantalising to forsake—despite all indications to the contrary. Blay blatantly squandered millions of dollars of shareholders’ money on an ostentatious lifestyle shuttling between Western capitals.

The Collapse

For the better part of fifteen years, Blay-Miezah kept his balloon in the air—telling a lie upon lie, cheating governments and banks, faking documents, sacrificing allies, and destroying lives. Finally, with investigative agencies from three continents on his trail and having fallen out with the Rawlings regime, he died at the age of 42. Even his death would not kill the story of the Oman Ghana Trust Fund. But the Fund was pure fiction. Not a penny emerged from it to benefit anyone .

Part 2: The Microfinance Meltdown — DKM, God is Love, and Jastar (2015–2016)

The mid-2010s saw a proliferation of microfinance companies offering impossibly high returns. Unlike the sophisticated international fraud of Blay-Miezah, these schemes were local, targeting rural communities, market women, and low-income savers.

DKM Diamond Microfinance — 87,000 Victims

DKM Diamond Microfinance Company Limited was incorporated on April 3, 2013, and licensed by the Bank of Ghana as a tier-two microfinance company. By 2015, the company had a net liability of GH¢21 million. At the time its license was revoked by the BoG on February 29, 2016, DKM had 10 branches, two agency offices, and six subsidiaries .

The scale of the fraud: During the liquidation process, it was established that 87,000 customers were entitled to receive GH¢352 million. The government assured that all DKM customers would be settled, but some customers have still been agitating for their payments .

DKM’s license was revoked alongside other schemes including:

• God is Love Fun Club — CEO Monica Afriyie was arrested after allegedly collecting GH¢100 million from clients. God Is Love had been blacklisted by the Bank of Ghana .

• Jastar Motors and Investment Company — Founder Charles Asum was arrested in 2015 for allegedly misappropriating GH¢20 million of customer deposits. The Bank of Ghana made moves to liquidate the company’s assets to settle customers .

• Little Drops Financial Services

• Care for Humanity Fun Club

These schemes were concentrated in the Bono, Bono East, Upper West, and Upper East regions .

The Regulatory Failure

Academic research examining the nature and operations of Ponzi schemes in Ghana found that “inadequate supervisory role by financial regulators” was a factor that made these schemes thrive, with “dire consequences on the socio-economic” of the country . The schemes created investment instruments with high interest returns over a short period to attract the unsuspecting public, offering rates higher than the base rate offered by government securities .

Part 3: The Gold Collectables Collapse — Menzgold Ghana Limited (2018–Present)

By far the most notorious and damaging financial scheme in modern Ghanaian history is Menzgold Ghana Limited, a gold collectables firm that evolved from an earlier operation called Menzbank in Kasoa as far back as 2014 .

The Warnings Ignored

The Bank of Ghana issued a warning to the public to avoid dealings with Menzgold as early as 2015. In 2018, Menzgold suspended its operations after an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission because it was purchasing and depositing gold collectables without a license .

Despite these warnings, thousands of Ghanaians—lured by promises of astronomical returns—continued to invest.

The Scale

Current estimates indicate that Menzgold CEO Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1), his wife, and his sister stand accused of using Menzgold to defraud more than 16,000 people of GH¢1.68 billion . Over 10,000 customers are still chasing their investments.

NAM1 was arrested in January 2019 in Dubai and granted bail. His case remains before the courts.

The Academic Analysis

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Law and Sustainable Development examined both DKM and Menzgold as the two main Ponzi schemes in Ghana’s recent history . The research confirmed that these schemes were able to circumvent financial regulatory bodies through inadequate supervision, with devastating impacts on the social, political, and economic spheres of Ghana.

The SEC itself has noted that “the recent cases involving DKM Diamond Microfinance Company Limited and Menzgold Company Limited (allegedly) shook the country’s financial sector” .

The Language of Legitimacy

Menzgold’s strategy was particularly sophisticated. It positioned itself as a “gold collectables” firm rather than a financial institution, attempting to argue that it was outside the SEC’s jurisdiction. But the SEC determined that purchasing and depositing gold collectables for investment purposes constituted capital market activity requiring a licence .

This tactic—relabelling an investment scheme as something else to avoid regulation—has been replicated by numerous subsequent frauds.

Part 4: The Digital Era — Loom, Cryptocurrency, and Social Media Schemes (2020–Present)

As the financial sector clean-up progressed, fraudulent schemes migrated online. The patterns remained the same, but the reach expanded dramatically through social media.

Loom — The Peer-to-Peer Pyramid

Loom was an unlicensed investment scheme that the SEC specifically cautioned the public against. It was a peer-to-peer scheme where people were invited to invest as little as GH¢20 with the promise of a return eight times its value within a short period .

The warnings were not heeded. Ghanaians were seen in WhatsApp groups engaged in such investments. The Economic and Organised Crime Office stressed that Loom was a scam and “a pyramid scheme disguised as something new” .

The Cryptocurrency Boom and Warnings

The Bank of Ghana has issued repeated warnings against cryptocurrency investment schemes. In 2022, the Central Bank warned the public about “SIDICOIN,” noting that neither the scheme nor its promoters had any approval to operate in Ghana’s banking and payment services sector. The BoG emphasised that cryptocurrency investment schemes are “not regulated under any law in Ghana” .

The Chronicle also identified other schemes such as Freedom Coin and a money-doubling scheme operating under the name “BitCash Currency Exchange” .

AfriQuantumX and AI-Generated Fraud (2025)

The most sophisticated digital fraud of the current era is AfriQuantumX, which used deepfake videos to falsely claim that President John Dramani Mahama and Nigerian politician Peter Obi were endorsing the platform. One viral video caption falsely read: “President John Dramani Mahama, together with Parliament, has presented AfriQuantumX Platform, a national investment platform created so that every citizen can fight inflation.”

The scheme also misused the logo of GCB Bank, prompting the bank to issue a warning statement. The link in the viral video directed users to WhatsApp—a major red flag identified by multiple sources—where scammers funnel victims into private groups and pressure them to transfer funds.

Part 5: Government and State-Owned Scandals — The Institutional Dimension

Not all investment scandals originate from private companies. Ghana has also witnessed significant financial misconduct involving government officials and state-owned enterprises.

The GES Recruitment Scandal — GH¢6 Million (2022–2023)

Between January 2022 and December 2023, Ibrahim Kofi Sessah, a technician at the Local Government Service, and his accomplices operated an illegal recruitment scheme involving the sale of appointment letters into the Ghana Education Service (GES). The scheme solicited and received a total sum of GH¢6,042,600.00 from over one hundred prospective teacher applicants .

The accused obtained these funds under the false representation that they could secure employment for the applicants within the GES. The case is currently before the High Court in Accra .

The National Service Authority Ghost Names Scandal — GH¢548 Million (2025)

The most significant payroll fraud scandal in Ghana’s recent history was uncovered in June 2025. Twelve individuals, including senior current and former officials of the National Service Authority (NSA), are set to be prosecuted over their alleged involvement in a GH¢548 million payroll fraud scheme .

Investigations revealed that the accused orchestrated an elaborate operation that introduced 9,934 ghost names onto the NSA payroll. These fake identities were allegedly used to divert service allowances meant for legitimate National Service personnel into private accounts .

Some of the misappropriated funds were channelled through ADB Bank accounts before being siphoned off. The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, described the case as one of the most significant payroll fraud scandals in Ghana’s history .

The suspects face charges including stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for private profit, obtaining public property by false pretence, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering .

The Sky Train Scandal — $2 Million (2025)

Two former government appointees have been charged with causing financial loss to the state over an alleged $2 million payment toward the procurement of a sky train for Ghana in 2018 .

Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, a former board member of Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), and Solomon Asamoah, the immediate past Chief Executive of GIIF, have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime, intentional dissipation of public funds, and other offences .

In February 2019, the accused authorised a $2 million payment from GIIF to Africa Investor Holdings Limited for preliminary work on the Sky Train project—a system that was never built. The payment was reportedly made without proper board approval, and investigations revealed that the disbursement lacked due diligence and violated GIIF’s governance protocols .

Ghana Exim Bank Fraud — GH¢18.7 Million (2026)

On May 14, 2026, Chairman Wontumi (Bernard Antwi-Boasiako) was arrested and charged by the Office of the Attorney General over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of funds from the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Ghana Exim Bank) for a farming project .

According to court documents, Chairman Wontumi approached the bank in January 2018 for financial support to undertake a large-scale farming project, applying for a GH¢19 million facility on behalf of Wontumi Farms Limited. The application claimed that the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed farming venture .

However, investigators found that the proposed farming activities were never carried out. The accused persons neither purchased the agricultural machinery nor secured the land they claimed to own for the project. A document submitted as proof of machinery purchase was allegedly altered—the inscription “Pro-forma Invoice” was replaced with the word “Receipt” before it was submitted to the bank .

The bank disbursed more than GH¢14.3 million to the company. The prosecution alleged that Chairman Wontumi withdrew large sums from the company’s accounts and used the funds for personal expenses and investments in other businesses. Attempts by the bank to recover the money were unsuccessful .

Part 6: Common Threads — Why These Schemes Succeed

The SEC’s analysis of Ponzi schemes identifies several consistent patterns that explain their persistence across decades :

The SEC notes that Ponzi schemes “are found at all stages of the modern capital market’s growth, and they pervade civilizations and societies. Their persistence, even in the face of modern, well-developed institutions, demonstrates that such deception preys on flaws in human nature and social structures” .

Conclusion: The Lessons of History

The history of Ponzi schemes and investment scandals in Ghana offers clear, consistent lessons.

First, no amount of regulatory oversight can protect investors who ignore warnings. The Bank of Ghana warned about DKM. The SEC warned about Menzgold. The BoG warned about cryptocurrency schemes. Each time, thousands of Ghanaians chose to invest anyway, seduced by promises of returns that no legitimate investment could deliver.

Second, the schemes evolve, but the patterns remain. Blay-Miezah’s Oman Ghana Trust Fund was a fiction of hidden gold. DKM was microfinance. Menzgold was gold collectables. Loom was peer-to-peer. AfriQuantumX is AI and cryptocurrency. The packaging changes; the substance—promising unrealistic returns on unlicensed operations—does not.

Third, the victims are not fools. They are nurses, teachers, market women, professionals—people who trusted friends, family members, or respected community figures. The schemes succeed because they exploit the very fabric of Ghanaian social trust.

Fourth, recovery is rare. The Oman Ghana Trust Fund never paid a penny. DKM’s 87,000 victims are still awaiting full settlement. Menzgold’s 16,000 customers have been waiting since 2018. The GH¢21 billion financial sector clean-up cost the state, not the fraudsters. Prevention remains the only reliable protection.

The SEC’s toll-free line is 0800 100065. The website is sec.gov.gh. The cost of verification is zero. The cost of not verifying has been, for hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians across five decades, everything.

Quick Reference: Major Ponzi Schemes and Investment Scandals in Ghana

Last Updated on June 10, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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