50 directors and shareholders of seven collapsed banks in Ghana dragged to court

This follows as the receivers of these banks started legal proceedings against these directors and shareholders for their roles in the collapse of the banks.

The banks are uniBank Ghana Ltd, the UT Bank, Capital Bank, Royal Bank, Construction Bank, Beige Bank and Heritage Bank.

In a report by the receivers, a Special Investigative Team (SIT) set up to probe financial crimes in the country has also referred many dockets on some members of staff of the defunct banks to the Attorney-General’s Office for advice and possible prosecution.

The defunct uniBank had the highest number of defaulting customers, numbering 26,558, with a total debt of GH¢4.6 billion, while the Sovereign Bank had 298 customers owing GH¢136 million.

For the Royal Bank, 752 customers are being pursued to pay GH¢1.142 billion, while 14 customers of the Construction Bank are to pay GH¢625,000.

3,371 customers are to refund GH¢872 million to the defunct Beige Bank.

Recently, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Addison who spoke at the opening of the Ghana CEO Summit in Accra projected the arrest of these shareholders, directors and other loan defaulters.

He noted that, “In my opinion, designating special courts and judges to adjudicate matters relating to specific issues arising out of the Bank resolutions and revocation of licenses given the public interest, and the enforcement of collateral agreements will help speed up the process,” adding that, “Without an efficient judiciary system that is prepared to deal with cases in a swift and decisive manner, all the work done in sanitising the banking system will not yield the desired results or expected outcomes.”