EOCO nabs ex-IMCCoD boss and accountant over GH¢55m fraud allegations

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has arrested Dennis Edward Aboagye, former Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), alongside Gerald Appiah, the Committee’s former Accountant, over suspected financial and procurement irregularities totalling about GH¢55 million.

Announcing the arrests in a press statement dated Monday, 13 July 2026, EOCO said the action followed months of investigation triggered by a petition from IMCCoD’s current Executive Secretary, who had asked the anti-graft body to dig deeper into findings from a forensic audit of the Secretariat’s activities between 1 August 2022 and 2 February 2025.

Investigators say the probe centres on the suspected theft, misapplication and diversion of public funds amounting to roughly GH¢55 million. Aboagye, who goes by the alias “Miracles,” Appiah, and other unnamed persons are being investigated for a string of offences, among them conspiracy to steal, using public office for profit, causing financial loss to the state, dissipating public funds, defrauding by false pretences, and money laundering.

EOCO disclosed that Appiah has already started refunding some of the funds in question, though it cautioned that repayment does not clear any suspect or bring the investigation to a close.

Narrating how the arrest unfolded, EOCO said fresh evidence emerged last week implicating Aboagye more directly, prompting the Office to move to arrest him even though he was reportedly aware of the probe and had previously visited its offices.

He had also been placed under a Stop Order roughly a week before to block any attempt to flee the jurisdiction — but by then, unknown to EOCO, he had already left Ghana.

He was eventually caught by the Stop Order on his return, when Ghana Immigration Service officials intercepted him at the Kotoka International Airport on Saturday night and handed him to EOCO the following morning. He has since been assisting investigators with a search operation that began on Sunday and was ongoing as of Monday.

Both suspects are expected to be granted bail: Aboagye under constitutional provisions, and Appiah once he meets his bail conditions, after which he will be released pending further investigations.

EOCO said it remains committed to a professional, impartial and lawful investigation that respects the rights of all persons involved, and promised to keep the public updated as the case develops.