Bank of Ghana backs COCLAB overhaul as reported financial sector fraud cases rise 48%

In a keynote address at a Committee for Cooperation between Law Enforcement Agencies and the Banking Community technical workshop, Bank of Ghana Second Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu backed a proposed restructuring of COCLAB into a more proactive enforcement and intelligence platform. The proposal advances her December 2025 call for a structured response to unlicensed financial operators and comes as Ghana undergoes its third-round mutual evaluation of its anti-money laundering, counterterrorist financing and counterproliferation financing regime by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa. The proposed model establishes working groups for public sensitization and information sharing, and investigations, supported by a steering committee comprising the heads of member institutions. It would place greater emphasis on intelligence sharing, fraud detection, coordinated investigations, asset recovery, prosecutions and measurable risk reduction. The case for reform is reinforced by the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 Fraud Report: reported cases across the financial ecosystem increased 48% to 24,778, driven mainly by payment service providers, while the value at risk rose from GHS 99 million to GHS 101 million. Fraud incidents at banks and specialized deposit-taking institutions declined, but incidents involving payment service providers increased 98% between 2022 and 2025. Workshop participants are expected to review, refine and adopt the proposed framework. Asante-Asiedu also urged member institutions to close outstanding gaps and provide evidence of effective implementation for Ghana’s ongoing mutual evaluation.