A 30-year-old former employee of Metropolitan Pensions Trust Ghana Limited (MPTGL), Benjamin Mensah Lamptey, has been arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly orchestrating a sophisticated scheme to steal over GH¢1.3 million from customer pension accounts.
Benjamin Lamptey, who is currently unemployed, pleaded not guilty to two charges; falsification of accounts, contrary to Section 140 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and stealing, contrary to Section 124(1) as amended by NLCD 398.
The case is being heard by Her Honour Mrs. Susana Eduful.
Benjamin Lamptey was granted bail in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties required to justify the amount, with properties registered in their names.
The original documents are to be lodged with the court registry and will remain there until the final determination of the case.
Alleged Scheme
According to the brief facts presented by Chief Inspector Abel Amanie, head of prosecution, Benjamin Lamptey allegedly manipulated customer data while employed as a Client Solutions Officer at MPTGL, using loopholes in the firm’s IN.
Pensions application system to divert pension funds to fraudulent accounts he created.
A forensic audit, triggered by suspicions from the Head of Internal Audit at MPTGL, Kwame Tabiri, revealed that Lamptey had misappropriated at least GH¢1,346,434.52 between August 2022 and September 2024.
One of the most egregious schemes involved Philip Darkwah, a former employee of the Ghana Maritime Authority.
Benjamin Lamptey allegedly processed and paid Mr. Darkwah’s legitimate pension entitlement of GH¢199,969.86 in January 2022.
He then failed to close the fund account and fraudulently changed the beneficiary name to Eric Owusu Letsu, eventually paying GH¢221,568.21 into two new accounts linked to the alias in January 2024.
After the fraudulent payment, Benjamin Lamptey reportedly reverted the account back to Mr. Darkwah’s name in an attempt to cover his tracks.
Multiple Victims and Fraudulent Accounts
Investigators allege that Benjamin Lamptey repeated this tactic multiple times, falsifying accounts belonging to:
Naa Caesar Ashieley (Baollare Africa Logistics Ltd) fraudulently altered to Charity Boatemaah, and later to Daniel Quaye, leading to unauthorized transfers of GH¢121,657.83.
Doe Dickson, also of Baollare Africa Logistics Ltd, whose already-paid entitlement of GH¢258,517.90 was reprocessed and redirected to an account also under the name Daniel Quaye.
Samuel Opoku Dankyi, under the National Lottery Authority scheme, who received a falsified pension transfer of GH¢160,740.48.The court was told that Benjamin Lamptey used his credentials to manipulate the pension management software, creating new “Smart Save” accounts and altering identities to redirect the funds.
He admitted during investigations to exploiting software loopholes and confirmed creating multiple fraudulent bank accounts, including those with Fidelity Bank and First National Bank, to facilitate the transfers.
While he has reportedly admitted to misappropriating GH¢1,177,693.80, he has been unable to account for the use of the money.
Investigations so far show the total amount lost to the scheme stands at GH¢1,346,434.52.
The prosecution has been directed to file all witness statements within four days in accordance with the practice directions.
The case has been adjourned to November 4, 2025 for further proceedings.
