The Bank of Ghana has issued a strong caution to the public regarding the activities of unlicensed individuals and entities posing as foreign investors. These fraudulent operators lure victims with promises of unusually high returns, in clear breach of Ghana’s financial laws.
In a public notice titled “Scam Alert – Illegal Foreign Investors in Ghana,” the Central Bank warned that these schemes typically involve unauthorized deposit-taking, an offense under Section 4 of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
The Bank clarified that it has not granted licenses to any individuals or organizations running such foreign investment schemes and stressed that participation in them constitutes a criminal offense. Per Section 53(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), violators may be subject to penalties ranging from 500 to 100,000 penalty units.
To protect themselves, the public is urged to:
- Confirm the licensing status of any entity before investing or depositing funds;
- Conduct business only with institutions authorized by the Bank of Ghana;
- Report suspicious operations to the Bank’s Financial Stability Department or law enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution.
The Bank also called on media outlets to avoid promoting unlicensed financial entities and urged them to verify advertisers’ legitimacy before broadcasting related content.
In closing, the Bank of Ghana advised all citizens to remain alert and avoid falling victim to these deceptive schemes.
