By Prince Offeh
Bank of Ghana Reports GH¢40.7 Million Cash Suppression Loss Risk Despite Drop in Banking Fraud | The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has identified cash suppression as the most financially damaging form of fraud in Ghana’s banking sector in 2025, with the fraud category accounting for GH¢40.7 million in value at risk, according to its latest Fraud Report.
The report revealed that the amount at risk from cash suppression surged from GH¢2.3 million in 2024 to GH¢40.7 million in 2025—an 18-fold increase. The sharp rise was largely driven by a single insider-related fraud case involving GH¢36 million.
Cash suppression occurs when employees deliberately fail to record, deposit, or account for cash received on behalf of a financial institution, resulting in the misappropriation of funds.
Despite the significant increase in the value at risk from cash suppression, the BoG said the banking industry recorded notable improvements in its overall fight against fraud during the year.
Banks reported 472 fraud cases in 2025, compared with 716 cases in 2024, representing a 34 per cent decline. The total value at risk across the banking sector also fell by 24 per cent, dropping from GH¢75 million in 2024 to GH¢57 million in 2025.
The central bank, however, cautioned that the cash suppression figures demonstrate how a single high-value incident can significantly increase a financial institution’s exposure to fraud and financial losses.
Beyond cash suppression, the report identified E-money fraud, fraudulent withdrawals, ATM/POS fraud and burglary as the major fraud types by value at risk. E-money fraud rose to GH¢4.6 million, while losses linked to fraudulent withdrawals increased by 118 per cent to nearly GH¢4 million. In contrast, ATM/POS fraud declined by 41 per cent to GH¢2.43 million.
To address the growing threat of insider-related fraud, the BoG urged banks to strengthen internal controls, tighten oversight of cash management processes and enhance fraud detection systems.
The central bank also called for greater collaboration among financial institutions, regulators, law enforcement agencies and the public to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. It stressed that as innovation and digitalisation reshape Ghana’s financial sector, institutions must remain vigilant by reinforcing fraud prevention measures to protect customers and sustain public confidence in the banking system.
Bank of Ghana Reports GH¢40.7 Million Cash Suppression Loss Risk Despite Drop in Banking Fraud | AviationGhana
