In Ghana, what many see as a creative gift could now land you in police custody.
The Bank of Ghana, working with the Ghana Police Service, has arrested seven people for allegedly making and selling money bouquets and money cakes, popular gifts where cedi banknotes are folded into flowers and decorative arrangements for weddings, birthdays and graduations.
What is illegal?
The central bank says using banknotes as decoration is misuse and abuse of the national currency. In a notice issued on July 14, 2026, it said creating bouquets, cakes, jewellery and other artworks with cedi notes and coins may be an offence under the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242).
The law also prohibits spraying money at events, scattering or stepping on notes, and tearing, crumpling, staining, defacing or mutilating banknotes.
“The Bank of Ghana wishes to issue a warning to the general public for using the 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 it is illegal and unlawful,” said Dianah Bondzi, Head of the Statistics Office at the Currency Management Department.
She warned that anyone who “engages in, assists, facilitates or promotes” the practice could face arrest and prosecution.
Why the crackdown?
The Bank of Ghana argues the cedi is legal tender and a national symbol that must be handled responsibly. Officials say folding, gluing, stapling and spraying shortens the life of banknotes and raises the cost of printing replacements, a significant expense for the state.
The arrests follow a joint operation targeting vendors advertising money bouquets on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where the trend has become a booming business.
Is this new?
Ghana is not alone. In neighbouring Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has prosecuted several high-profile cases of “naira abuse” for spraying and mutilating notes at parties, sparking a national debate about culture versus currency laws.
Ghanaian authorities are now urging people to gift money through envelopes, bank transfers or cheques instead of bouquets — a shift that is likely to disappoint many who see the bouquets as a status symbol at social events.
