Vice President of policy think-tank MANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has warned government against using taxpayers’ money to pay off people who lose their investments through ponzi schemes or illegal activities.
Speaking at an economic dialogue organised by Media General, he argued the government has no responsibility whatsoever, to step in when such ponzi schemes either collapse or run away with people’s investment.
“Government has no responsibility, legal or moral, to pay citizens for losses incurred as a result of engaging in illegal activity,” he stated.
The forum is themed “Investment in the Face of Ponzi Schemes: How Do we Clean the Mess?”.
BoG governor, others to speak on Ponzi schemes
A ponzi scheme is a form of fraud in which the unsuspecting public is tricked to invest in a non-existent investment scheme, with the promise of offering them ridiculous percentage as their investment returns.
In order to build the scheme, the fraudsters pay earlier investors using funds from new investors, which entice more people to join.
About 10 of such ponzi schemes have operated and either collapsed or owners ran away with huge sums of money being the investment of the unsuspecting public.
The canker has over the years caused loss of thousands of cedis to the public while others have lost their lives as a result.
In the recent case of DKM, the government stepped in to liquidate the company after which it paid off investors.
Again in the banking crisis that rocked the country, government spent 13 billion of taxpayers’ money to liquidate seven banks in a bid to safeguard the investment and savings of thousands of Ghanaians, President Nana Akufo-Addo revealed two weeks ago.
‘Emotional notion’
Mr. Bentil noted some Ghanaians have formed what he termed as “emotional notion” based on nothing, that once someone loses his investment in an illegal activity such as ponzi schemes, the government ought to step in to pay out their investment principal.
“There is not such responsibility,” he pointed out.
According to him, politicians are partly to be blamed for such notion because “in certain situations I’m aware the government paid some money… One of these days, somebody should sue them for wasting our money”.
He advised that people begin to think hard about such ponzi schemes which disguise as genuine investment firms offering mouthwatering returns on investments.
“You need to know that you don’t have any protection,” he advised.
Source: 3news.com
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why nobody is jailed since the ndk or what is it called. Because the pepetrators are not jailed or punish, they would always come again. the politicians and the police may also be heavily involve.
greedy Ghanians
They should be even jailed or be in jail. Because why a govt would say let us build our nation with interest rate of 12% of your money and you for so greedy to plan and collapse the nation by organising yourself that let us form our own bank and increase our interest rate by 50% and go and borrowing all the money from the govt bank and deposit it into your bank and be getting the interest from your greedy bank to pay back to the govt bank, why?.
THERE ARE FAR MORE RUMPOURS CIRCULATING THAT THE COLLAPSE OF UT AND CAPITAL BANKS WERE AS A RESULT OF DEPOSITORS MONIES THAT WERE USED TO SPONSOR THE NPP FOR THE 2012 AND 2016 GENERAL ELECTIONS. WHETHER THIS IS TRUE OR NOT I CANNOT TELL. BUT SOME PEOPLE COMPLAIN THAT THE LEADERSHIP OF NPP IS UNABLE TO GO AFTER PASTOR MENSAH OTABIL AND OTHERS BECAUSE OF THEIR ROLE IN SPONSORING THE PARTY TO WIN ELECTIONS. FURTHER RUMOURS INDICATE THAT EVEN THOUGH GCB BANK WAS EXPECTED TO ABSORB MOST OF THE UT AND CAPITAL BANK STAFF ONLY A FEW WERE ABSORBED BY GCB WHILE MAJORTY OF THE OTHERS ABSORBED CAME IN FROM OUTSDE THE TWO BANKS AND HAVE BEEN TAGGED NPP SUPPORTERS. THE QUESTION TO ASK IS CAN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NPP EXPLAIN TO GHANAIANS OF THEIR INNOCENCE OF ALL THESE ALLEGATIONS?
BOG, MOF will have a case to answer one day. You can't use public funds for a businessman's inadequacies. This is not done! Period. Hold the Directors and Share holders accountable. The money is not for the Governor or the Min of Finance to use it anyhow.
Please give us the break. Policy thin-thank indeed. Are we not Ghanaians. ***barred word*** talk
Speak to the issue of the npp and BOG using 13 billion GHC tax money bail out private banks whilst DEFAULTERS walk free..... STUPIDD fooooolllllls....
You clever ***barred word***.... Wait and see 2020 what voters will do to npp... Nobody expects govt to pay customers of ponzi schemes... Common sense... This is common sense.... But tell Ghanaians if the seven collapsed banks are also ponzi schemes or BOG MAFIA STAFF COLLUDED WITH HIGH PROFILE LOAN DEFAULTERS TO DUPE AND COLLAPSE THE BANKS.... Using 13 billion GHC tax money bail out private banks whilst DEFAULTERS walk free is purely CREATE LOOT AND SHARE UNDER NANADDO AND BAWUMIA..... 2020 IS COMING FOR US TO KICK OFF THE NPP ***barred word***...