The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, has complained bitterly about the recent surge in sophisticated fraudulent activities and schemes in the country.
Criminals, particularly fraudsters, she said, kept evolving and modifying their modus operandi including anticipating the systems put in place to stop them and putting out countermeasures to be ahead.
In a recent speech delivered to public sector leaders at a Seminar organised by the Conference of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in Accra, COP Tiwaa said, adding to the aforementioned developments was the issue of insider threats.
Shedding light on activities of insider threats, Maame Tiwaa noted that though organisations rarely paid high attention to the vulnerabilities of insider threats, they remained a challenge that could easily have profound impact when they occur.
“Insider threats are particularly challenging because we are talking about people within the system – our own employees or trusted partners – who know exactly where the vulnerabilities are. These individuals have access and insight that external actors simply do not”.
As if these do not post enough threat, she said, “In an increasingly globalised world, cross-border fraud schemes have also become a serious concern with criminals exploiting regulatory gaps between nations to evade detection.
“Globalisation, while beneficial in many ways, has opened up new avenues for financial crime. Fraudsters can operate from virtually anywhere in the world, making it crucial for us to collaborate with international agencies to track and prevent cross-border fraud”.
To be able to stem the tide, COP Maame Tiwa indicated that there was the urgent need to constantly train EOCO officials because the evolving nature of fraud made their job not just reactive, but also one of constant innovation.
“Preventing and detecting fraud requires considerable resources – technology, skilled personnel and training, but unfortunately our budgets don’t always allow us the flexibility we need. It’s a significant hurdle and one we must work to overcome with strategic partnerships and support,” She added.
In our view the cry of Maame Tiwaa about the sophisticated nature of fraudulent activities and the way they keep evolving, must be a general concern to all well-meaning Ghanaians.
The Chronicle is particularly alarmed over this development because such fraudulent activities have the potential to increase financial losses, reduce investors’ confidence and decrease economic growth and affect the country’s reputation.
The development is exacerbated by the fact that Ghana cannot risk of being marked and regarded as a safe haven for fraudulent activities because such a negative tag would definitely come with other dire consequences.
For instance, Ghana’s international image would be dented and get blacklisted by international organisations, as well as trade sanctions by the international community, which would automatically erode our gains and international reputation.
The Chronicle, therefore, calls on the government and corporate institutions to, as a matter of urgency, provide adequate resources to EOCO to enable it recruit the skilled professionals it needs to work with and also provide regular training for the staff to stay ahead.
Since we cannot allow few miscreants to dent the image of the country with their wonton fraudulent activities, we must be ready to put in place adequate measures that would stem the tide, and the time is now.
