Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, says he is sure that Prince Kofi Amoabeng and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor will apply all documents supporting their requests for the restoration of their respective financial institution’s licenses before the one-week deadline expires.
On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, the parliamentary committee investigating the bankruptcy of uniBank and UT Bank ordered the petitioners to submit their testimony and documents within a week.
On Eyewitness News, the Bawku Central MP responded to the directive by stating that he would ensure that the necessary documents are sent to the committee on time.
“Most of the petitions raised outlined the arguments for which the petitioners were addressing Parliament. “In certain cases, the petitioners would not have any of the necessary records added to it,” he said.
“Now that the committee has decided to consider the appeal, I am confident that the petitioners will be able to include whatever information is available to them. The petitioners are in the process of sending the necessary documentation by the deadline. The letter is addressed to me, and I’ll make sure they get to the committee before the one-week deadline, after which I’ll wait for more instructions. The committee will then vote on the next steps.”
Mr. Ayariga formally submitted the petitions on the floor on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, and proposed the creation of a seven-member committee to investigate the issues.
When asked what motivates him to champion the cause, Mr. Ayariga said that it is his determination to see justice done.
“Every resident has the right to demand redress if they believe they have been handled unfairly. Our constitution is based on democracy and justice, and any Member of Parliament must be willing to assist any person who believes he or she has been handled unlawfully by any government institution,” Mr. Ayariga said.
Background
Following the suspension of their respective financial institutions’ licenses, the two businessmen, Prince Kofi Amoabeng and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, petitioned Parliament to investigate the actions of the central bank and the Ghana Stock Exchange.
During the banking sector clean-up that began in 2017, the licenses of Dr. Duffuor, the founder of the now-defunct uniBank, and Mr. Amoabeng, the former Chief Executive Officer of the now-defunct UT bank, were revoked.
The apex bank said it took action against UT Bank because the institution was insolvent and unwilling to recapitalize amid guarantees from the company’s shareholders.
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UniBank’s license was also revoked for similar reasons, according to the apex bank, which claimed that the financial institution was massively undercapitalized.
The Bank of Ghana also alleged that uniBank owners used bank funds to buy estate assets under their own names.
“UniBank’s owners and associated parties confessed to purchasing real estate assets under their own names using funds from the bank under suspicious circumstances,” according to the central bank.
While uniBank merged with four other banks to form Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, the Bank of Ghana approved GCB’s acquisition of UT Bank.
Dr. Duffuor is now litigating his bank’s failure in the hopes of having the court rule that his bank’s merger with others to form the Consolidated Bank was illegal.
Mr. Amoabeng said his bank’s license was revoked “without due respect to the laws of Administrative Justice guaranteed under article 23 of the 1992 Constitution,” according to the petition papers.
As a result, he is requesting that Parliament issue a directive restoring the license.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
