Adu-Boahene defends GH¢49 million spending, says it funded national security operations

By: Ernest Afram

Kwabena Adu-Boahene, the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, currently facing charges of stealing and causing financial loss to the state, has broken his silence from the custody of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO). In a confidential memo addressed to the National Security Coordinator, Adu-Boahene has detailed how substantial sums of money under scrutiny were used for special national security operations, including payments to lawmakers.

The memo, dated May 5, 2025, was relayed through his legal counsel, former MP and lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea and has since been leaked onto social media, along with a cover letter from his lawyers. In the documents, Adu-Boahene strongly rejects the criminal accusations brought against him, arguing that the transactions in question were authorized, transparent, and linked to sensitive national security activities. 

The charges were officially filed on April 30 by the Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine. Adu-Boahene is standing trial alongside his wife Angela Adjei Boateng, together with two others Mildred Donkor and Advantage Solutions Limited. The prosecution claims that over GHS 49 million in public funds were misappropriated through unauthorized transfers and transactions.

In his memo, however, Adu-Boahene insists that the funds were properly disbursed from a Special Services or “Coordinated” Account for legitimate operational purposes. He claims the money passed through an SPV account named “BNC Communications Bureau,” set up to facilitate classified operations, with the full knowledge and authorization of the relevant authorities. He also noted that his wife was vetted before playing a role in the setup, working closely with Universal Merchant Bank (UMB). He maintains that all expenditures during his tenure were lawful and aligned with national security interests and procedures.
“I give you my highest assurances that Angela (wife) and I would never steal public funds, as is being deliberately and wickedly portrayed by the Attorney-General. In any case, how does one steal public funds in the manner being described by the Attorney-General without being flagged by the Auditor-General?”
Adu-Boahene strongly maintained that he and his wife are content with their modest means and have no interest in taking what does not belong to them. He stressed that even in private arrangements, they have always acted with integrity and gratitude for the blessings they already have.
“Further, I give you my highest assurances that Angela [wife] and I would never take what does not belong to us, even if privately arranged. We are full of content with the modest blessings God has given us,” he wrote.

Significantly, the memo outlines that part of the funds were used to pay allowances to Members of Parliament on the Subsidiary Legislation Committee and the Defense and Interior Committee in 2020, when the National Signals Bureau Act was being enacted.

Adu-Boahene accused the Attorney-General of launching a media campaign to tarnish his reputation and that of his family. He described recent public statements by the A-G as misleading, and criticized EOCO’s Executive Director, Raymond Archer, for what he termed deliberate distortions of facts. He warned that continued public misrepresentation of the case could have serious implications for national security.

He said he had attempted to withhold classified details during interrogations, but the circumstances now required that some sensitive information be disclosed to the National Security Coordinator. A table listing various special operations expenditures, including covert activities, was attached to the memo. His lawyer’s cover letter adds that the ongoing prosecution not only breaches aspects of the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030), and the National Signals Bureau Act, 2020 (Act 1040), but also threatens to compromise national security interests. The legal team has urged the National Security leadership to intervene and offer professional assessment of the facts.