Court freezes bank accounts of Sylvester Mensah
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has obtained a court order to freeze the bank accounts of the former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah.
Advertisement
Justice Georgina Mensah Datsa granted the ex-parte application yesterday at the Financial Court.
The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) is investigating Mr Mensah over allegations that he fraudulently paid false claims to some medical facilities.
According to sources, the former NHIA boss presented himself to the BNI on January 1, 2016 after seven armed BNI operatives had gone to his residence at Tse Addo, near the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, the previous night.
BNI investigates
Mr Mensah is said to have spent well over eight hours assisting security operatives to gather information on suspected false claims by some 10 medical facilities.
According to the source, Mr Mensah was not home when the BNI officials went to his residence.
Seventeen people have also been cautioned and granted bail by the BNI.
The investigations began at the instance of President John Mahama six months ago.
Other Trending Stories
According to the BNI, some medical facilities had been falsifying documents and submitting bloated claims to the NHIA. In some cases, officials of such medical facilities colluded with officials of the NHIA to defraud the authority.
A source said the directors of the authority had been invited for routine interactions with officials of the BNI and some conceded that even though there had been such interactions between officials of the two institutions in the past, “this interaction appears to be comprehensive”.
It said some of the key issues being discussed were the accreditation process, the provider tariffs and how claims were vetted and processed.
Petition
Meanwhile, some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) suspect that the investigation is politically motivated, claiming that it is masterminded by persons in the party and aimed at tarnishing Mr Mensah’s reputation.
All the executive members of the La Dadekotopon Constituency branch of the NDC in Accra have jointly signed a petition to the national headquarters of the party, demanding an end to the investigation.
They have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the national headquarters to intervene and stop what they claim is "senseless" harassment of Mr Mensah.
Even before the deadline for the ultimatum, the executive have closed down the constituency office and vowed to not vote in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.