An Accra High Court has ordered the Bank of Ghana, the Attorney-General and the Receiver of GN Saving and Loans Limited to file their defences in response to Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom’s case. The Court has given the three Respondents one month to file their defences.
At today's Court hearing, the Human Rights judge, Justice Gifty Addo Adjei, referred to Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution and stated that the suit before her is a fundamental right action. She used the persuasive statement of Judge Mensah Akomeah in the Dr Kwabena Duffour vrs BoG case and overruled for want of legal basis.
In effect, the High Court has ruled that it has jurisdiction over the case and has adjourned it to 21st January 2020 for judgement on the substantive application.
The Revocation
It would be recalled that on August 16, 2019, the Bank of Ghana issued a notice to revoke the licence of GN Savings and 22 other savings and loans companies and finance house companies for various reasons.
In respect of GN Savings, however, the Bank of Ghana stated that “GN is currently insolvent under Section 123(4) of the Banks and SDIs Act, 2016 (Act 930).”
In the same notice, the Bank of Ghana appointed Mr Eric Nana Nipah, a Partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers Ghana, as Receiver to see to the liquidation of the companies.
Nduom’s case
However, on August 30, 2019, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom and the other shareholders of GN Saving, through their lawyers, Archbridge Solicitors, filed an application at the High Court to challenge the revocation of GN Savings’ licence.
In the suit, the lawyers rejected the Bank of Ghana’s claim that GN was insolvent. They also described the revocation as “malicious”. The lawyers explained that the Bank of Ghana deliberately refused to consider the entire portfolio of GN Savings’ assets in coming to the conclusion that GN Savings was insolvent. They prayed the Court to, among other things, quash the decision of the Bank of Ghana and to restore GN Savings’ licence.
They also filed an application for interlocutory injunction asking the court to restrain the Bank of Ghana and the Receiver from acting in a way that may overreach the court’s powers or prejudicing their case.
The Respondent’s Objection
Rather than oppose the case and give reasons for their decision, the Bank of Ghana, the Minister of Finance and the Attorney-General chose to object to the jurisdiction of the Court.
They argued that the proper place to challenge the revocation was the Ghana Arbitration Centre and not the High Court.
Dr Nduom’s lawyers, led by the Justice Srem-Sai, opposed the argument. In his oral address to the High Court on November 21, 2019, Mr Srem-Sai argued that his clients are entitled to choose which forum to go to for remedies. He submitted that the High Court has firm jurisdiction over the case. He finally prayed the Court that the objection was baseless and should be dismissed with exemplary cost.
Secret Memo
Meanwhile, documents have emerged this week suggesting that the decision to revoke the licences of Dr Nduom’s business establishments were politically motivated.
In one of the documents (published by the Daily Post newspaper) had the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori Atta, urging Cabinet to approve the scheme to revoke the licence of GN Bank.
The memo also asked for Cabinet’s support for the Bank of Ghana throughout the revocation process. The memo described Dr Nduom as a “threat” to the Nana Akufo Addo government’s interests.
Way Forward
Having dismissed the objection of the Bank of Ghana and the Attorney-General, the case is now set to take its normal course. The Respondents will have no choice but to justify their decision to revoke GN Savings’ licence.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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is it the politics that is going to pay our money? if ndomie claims gn is solvent, how come it could not pay my funds since august 2018
Let’s not be ***barred word*** by this antics by Nduom. He couldn’t just pay us. Made bad investments. Government has nothing to do with it. All the reasons BOG and SEC are fair. Nduom was not playing by the rules and the laws just caught up with him. This is not a witch-hunt and if you asked all the 30m plus people living in Gh they would have done this banking sector sanitation 30mil ways. We are about to takeoff as country under this current administration and let us not loose this opportunity. Evidently NDC isn’t a better substitute. Let’s help strengthen our weak institutions to work and our country will develop.
What has the government done if you choose to do marketing with Tundra vehicle. Mind you GNBank was receiving demand and savings deposits and shound not have been used for long term investment. How many customers were able to access loans in the past 3 years. Don't comment on issues you don't know. A staff Nana Owusu said on peacefm that they used the bank funds to pay gold Coast customers. Is that prudent. What was the director feedback on over $62my transfer to US they were all customers deposits. God round and ask how many of the staff would like to work with him again. Access salaries over the past year was even a nightmare. How many customers are desd
Ndoum was not paying any funds long before it was close down. How much is the money for a customer at GN savings Bank? 200 and still Ndoum can't pay. He has disappointed me so much. Government has nothing to do with this. If he has the money, he should prove it and pay. I started chasing my money more than 2 years ago and it would be ***barred word*** for me to believe Ndoum can pay at all. He has become so deceitful.
why castigate government when the case has just started. lets wait and see if BOG really acted irresponsibly or If GN Bank was indeed insolvent. Dont scratch the surface of this simple court ruling to think a president or for that matter a government deliberately collapsed a Bank
So Ndoum knew he had a genuine case? Ndoum says GN was solvent ? why was he not paying his clients and staff for almost a year. Now that the license is revoked, you go to court to do what for you. We all wait to see the outcome. But for me He wont win this case.
We have a big problem. Ghana will perish if our ways of thinking does not change. We have deceived Government to think that it is a political achievement for it to remain the largest employer. So they come boasting to us about the number of jobs they have created instead of helping the private sector to create jobs. Worse of all they also pay some Ghanaians colossal salaries, per-diems and allowances as if they do their shopping in the moon and as if they feed elephants. They use the most expensive cars which have to be changed on yearly basis to remain current. Being in the private sector is no longer attractive when one compares with what counterparts in the public service earn. These high expenditures are not sustainable and so public debt continues to mount. Governments (I mean political administrations) reign 4-8 years yet the the debts they make are redeemed beyond 10 years. How is it possible that the laws of Ghana allow one to come and borrow and another to pay? Our political administrations have become planners. They know their reign is 4-8 years but they campaign with plans that cannot be redeemed in 50 years. How long will we continue to pretend? It is obvious that a political administration will want to remove officials from all the powerful positions, reorganize the financial sector in their favor to perpetuate their power but we pretend not to see and we (the sage, the clergy,the statesmen, the technocrats and the elites who are supposed to know) heap praises on them.The calamity awaiting Ghana if we don't change shall be untold. Asemsebe
I hope Dr. Nduom wins the court case
The government really messed up this time
Lets wait and see, the reward of the wicked will surely come before our eyes. We voted for Nana but its now obvious how evil he and his family government are. the Devil, never offer free lunch. the biggest disgrace for Nana coming 2020 will be to loose the elections miserably. Nana has already lost 2 vots from me. I know they only have macho men and not men of wisdom so they will not understand why my vote will cost them 2 instead of 1. Every person who voted for Nana in 2016 but changes vote for the Opposition will result in 2 votes difference per person against Nana in 2020. Another evil man appointed by nana is Kofi Osei Ameyaw of the NLA.