The Receiver for the defunct 347 Microfinance Companies and 23 Savings and Loans Companies and Finance Houses, Eric Nana Nipah, says the government is not only interested in recovering assets and paying depositors, but will also commence prosecutions from August this year.
In an interview with Citi Business News, Mr. Nipah, who has assured a hundred percent payment of depositor claims by end of July, says about 96 percent of all validated depositor claims which stands at 5.4 billion Cedis have been settled. He says with the help of the Economic and Organized Crime Office, EOCO, assets worth about GHC 500 million Cedis have been recovered, adding that the work towards the prosecution from August has been carried out in the last one year. “We will also insist on rendering of stewardship not only to demand accountability but to ensure that due course is given to some situations. We have not relented and that is where EOCO comes in. We have been working with EOCO on potential recoveries and prosecutions for close to a year now. EOCO has done extensive work on investigations and we are at the point that as I speak, dockets are being prepared to be passed on to the AG’s department for prosecution beginning August this year” he said.
The financial sector clean-up, which commenced under the Akufo-Addo administration in August 2017, led to the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies on May 31, 2019. The Bank of Ghana later in August 2019 again revoked the licenses of twenty-three (23) insolvent savings and loans companies and finance houses, whiles the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked the licenses of over 50 Fund Management Companies. According to the bank, this was in pursuant to Section 123 (1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), which requires the Bank of Ghana to revoke the license of a Bank or Specialised Deposit-Taking Institution (SDI) where the Bank of Ghana determines that the institution is insolvent.”
EOCO freezes assets of defunct Ideal Finance boss, Nii Kotei Dzani
Earlier this year, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), froze some 31 accounts and some landed property of Nii Kotei Dzani, as part of efforts to among other things retrieve funds from him to settle customers whose funds are locked up with the defunct company. Ideal Finance was among the 23 savings and loans and finance houses that lost their licenses after they were declared insolvent by the Bank of Ghana as part of the financial sector clean-up.