Strong Warning from BoG on Foreign Investment Scams

The public has received a strong warning from the Bank of Ghana against the activities of unlicensed people and organizations posing as foreign investors.

The Bank says, these dishonest actors are directly breaking Ghana’s financial regulations by luring gullible people with promises of large returns.

The Bank said that these schemes frequently involve unauthorized deposit-taking activities, which are strictly forbidden for any entity not licensed under Section 4 of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), in a notice titled “Scam Alert – Illegal Foreign Investors in Ghana.”

The Bank cautioned that anyone involved in such endeavors is breaking the law and underlined that “it has not licensed any people or businesses conducting such overseas investment schemes.”

Section 53(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044) stipulates that offenders may be subject to administrative penalties that range from 500 to 100,000 penalty units.

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In order to protect oneself, the public is encouraged to:

• Verify the licensing status of any individual or entity before depositing funds

• Transact only with financial institutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana

• Report any suspicious activities to the Bank’s Financial Stability Department or relevant law enforcement agencies for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The Bank also advised media outlets to “check the legality of financial advertising before airing their content” and warned them not to support these illicit activities.

As a result, the Bank of Ghana has urged all Ghanaians to exercise caution and refrain from falling for these fraudulent schemes.