Dr Kwabena Duffuor II
Three shareholders of defunct uniBank have filed a counter suit against auditing firm KPMG and the Receiver of the bank for what they describe as misrepresenting facts to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to revoke the bank’s licence.
According to them, had it not been for the misrepresentation and rent-seeking behaviour of KPMG, the BoG and Government would not have revoked the licence of uniBank.
The shareholders, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Professor Newman Kusi and Boatemaa Kakra Duffuor Nyarko, who are among 17 shareholders of the bank sued by the Receiver, in their counter suit, denied abusing their fiduciary duties and indicated that they obeyed all rules given by the Central Bank.
The shareholders are also challenging the decision of the Central Bank to appoint an administrator of the bank.
They stated that BoG, through its accredited officers, validated, affirmed and endorsed substantially the acts of uniBank and its board on the basis of which the Central Bank, after painstaking assessment of all the indigenous banks in Ghana, concluded that uniBank was one of three indigenous banks that certainly had the capability to comply with and meet its new capitalisation requirement of GH¢400,000,000 by December 2018.
“The purported compulsory taking of the ‘good assets’ of uniBank and the vesting of same in a Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd,” a public corporation, was contrary to the relevant provisions of the Constitution 1992 including articles 18, 20 and 36,” the suit averred.
The shareholders averred that they performed their duties conscientiously and prudently, a fact which the Receiver and the BoG admitted, endorsed, affirmed and accepted in good faith at all material times.
They are therefore praying the court for declaration that the procedure leading to the appointment of KPMG as an official administrator was unlawful, illegal and contrary to the prevailing and acceptable custom of the banking industry and sector.
The defendants further prayed the court to declare that the plaintiff was not authorized by law to set aside, impugn or interfere with any or all transactions duly entered into between Unibank and any of its customers.
Again, the uniBank shareholders want the court to declare the purported imposition of sanctions and culpability on them for transactions done and concluded prior to the coming into force of Act 930 contrary to Article 107 of the 1992 Constitution.
They also want a declaration that “where the plaintiff is a senior partner and the purported auditing led by the self same plaintiff, as well as the appointment of the same plaintiff as Receiver, is patently illegal, unlawful and infringes every known law or practice in relation to administrative fairness and transparency, and therefore ought to be set aside vehemently by every measure of legality.”
Suit
The Receiver of the defunct uniBank, Nii Amanor Dodoo, sued the Founder of the bank, Dr Kwabena Duffuor and 16 others to pay GH¢5,712,623,145, which was allegedly misappropriated.
In a suit filed at an Accra High Court, the Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo, who is a senior partner at KPMG, is seeking an order of the court against Dr. Duffuor and 16 others, who played a role in the collapse of bank to repay the huge amount of money.
The plaintiff averred that all 17 defendants, who are all directors, shareholders and debtors of the once vibrant uniBank, engaged in illegal transactions by giving out unlawful loans and advances, as well as illegal acquisition of assets in the name of related interests or persons related to the shareholders.
Mr. Dodoo wants a declaration from the court that the defendants “have breached their duties as directors of uniBank Ghana Limited, and are liable for the loss to uniBank Ltd occasioned by their acts of breach.”
Duffuor’s Suit
It would be recalled that Dr Kwabena Duffuor, former Finance Minister, sued the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for revoking the operating licence of uniBank.
The former governor of the Central Bank, who is a major shareholder in the bank, in a suit filed at an Accra High Court, averred that the decision of BoG to merge the bank with four other troubled local banks was not done appropriately in accordance with Act 930, and therefore it was null and void.
The suit, filed together with Integrated Properties Limited of Top Base in Gbawe, is seeking an injunction to restrain BoG from “expropriating uniBank by its purported vesting of ‘good assets and liabilities in Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited and the revocation of the licence of uniBank.”
By Gibril Abdul Razak