Land Commission launches special desk to combat money laundering in real estate

In a significant move to crack down on illicit financial flows, the Lands Commission is set to establish a specialised desk dedicated to assisting security agencies in investigating suspected money laundering through property purchases.

The Acting Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Professor Anthony Owusu-Ansah, announced the initiative during an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues programme on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

The new unit is designed to expedite the verification of land records for law enforcement bodies, addressing concerns that the real estate sector is increasingly being used to conceal illegally acquired funds.

“If somebody is having funds, the best way to wash that fund is to buy property,” Prof. Owusu-Ansah explained. “If we are not sure what the person’s source of revenue is, before you buy the property you have to do an indenture and do stamping. During the stamping stage, you will know who is buying, who is involved and all that. If you are not sure, you should alert them.”

Streamlining Investigations

Currently, requests from agencies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Narcotics Control Commission, and National Security are processed through the same channels as regular public searches. This method lacks dedicated personnel and a guaranteed turnaround time.

The proposed desk will create a separate, streamlined channel to handle these sensitive inquiries promptly. Under the new system, investigators will submit a suspect’s site plan directly to the specialised desk. The Commission will then conduct a thorough search of its records and provide verified ownership and transaction details to the requesting agency.

“Almost all the security agencies, EOCO and National Security, on a daily basis they bring us documents for us to verify and provide information for them,” Prof. Owusu-Ansah said. “But they wanted the results to come promptly, so they needed a specialised desk, people they can contact at the Lands Commission to handle that.”

He noted that recent discussions with the Narcotics Control Commission have been positive, and the service model has been agreed upon in principle.

Expanding the Scope of Scrutiny

While the Lands Commission already cooperates with investigators, the new desk will formalise this collaboration and ensure faster responses. Crucially, the service will not be limited to state-owned lands. Prof. Owusu-Ansah confirmed that private and customary land transactions will also fall under the scope of the new investigative tool.

“Even private land,” he stated. “Where they have a lead that this person, the kind of money that he is having needs to be investigated, that is why he is buying this, they can let us have the site plan. We do our search and we communicate to them.”

This expansion is particularly significant, as private and customary land deals in Ghana often involve cash payments and less formal documentation, making them potentially vulnerable to abuse for money laundering.

Prof. Owusu-Ansah did not provide a specific launch date for the desk but confirmed that discussions with security agencies have advanced and the framework for the new service is now in place. The initiative represents a proactive step by Ghana to strengthen its financial crime defences and enhance transparency within the real estate market.