The Bank of Ghana, working in close collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, has arrested seven individuals in Accra for allegedly using Ghana cedi banknotes to produce money bouquets and money cakes intended for commercial sale.

The operation forms a key part of the central bank’s ongoing enforcement campaign against the misuse, abuse, and illegal handling of Ghana’s currency notes and coins.

Officials said the suspects were taken into custody at various locations across the capital after investigators established that they had been converting genuine banknotes into decorative items sold for weddings, birthdays, graduations and other celebratory events. Such practices, the Bank of Ghana maintains, remove legal tender from legitimate circulation, subject the notes to physical damage and demonstrate a fundamental disrespect for the national currency.

Dinah Bonzi, Head of the Statistics Office at the Currency Management Department of the Bank of Ghana, stated that the exercise is intended to send a strong warning to individuals and businesses involved in the practice.

“The Bank of Ghana wishes to issue a warning to the general public for using banknotes and coins to create money bouquets, money cakes for weddings, for birthdays, for graduations, and other similar events, which constitutes the misuse and abuse of the currency and is illegal and unlawful,” she said.

According to the Bank of Ghana, the seven individuals were arrested at various locations in Accra.

Ms. Bonzi explained that those arrested had used Ghana cedi banknotes to create bouquets and cakes which were being produced for commercial purposes.

She emphasised that the central bank will not tolerate any activity that undermines the integrity of the cedi.

“Following today’s arrest on the alleged abuse of the Ghana currency, the bank wants to clearly state that persons found engaging in, aiding, promoting or facilitating such acts will be arrested and prosecuted by the appropriate law enforcement agencies,” she said.

“The Ghana cedi is a legal tender of the Republic of Ghana and must be treated with respect. The misuse or abuse of the currency is an offence and may attract sanctions under the law,” Diana Bonzi added.

The arrested persons will face prosecution, with possible sanctions including fines or imprisonment under the relevant legislation. “From here they will be prosecuted,” she said. “Fines or even imprisonment according to the Act.”

The Bank of Ghana has previously issued repeated public warnings against a range of harmful practices. These include the spraying of money at social events, the creation of money bouquets and decorative displays from banknotes, the scattering or deliberate stepping on currency, writing on or otherwise altering notes, and any other form of physical damage or unconventional use.

Officials have long argued that such acts not only deface the currency but also impose unnecessary costs on the central bank, which must constantly replace damaged notes to maintain an adequate supply of clean, usable cash in the economy.

By taking decisive enforcement action in Accra, the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Police Service aim to deter both small-scale operators and larger commercial producers of money-based decorations.

The authorities stress that the cedi’s status as legal tender carries with it a civic responsibility to handle the notes and coins with care and dignity.

Ms. Bonzi said the latest arrests should serve as a clear signal that the era of casual disregard for the national currency is ending. “Today’s arrest should serve as a clear warning to the public. Let us all handle the Ghana cedi with dignity,” she said.

The central bank continues to monitor markets and social events for further instances of currency abuse and has pledged to work with law-enforcement agencies nationwide to ensure that those who persist in the practice face the full weight of the law.