Finance Minister Seth Terkper told law makers today that rogue microfinance company, DKM Ltd, diverted GHS77 million of investors' deposits into personal businesses and subsidiaries belonging to the firm's managers.
Terkper was in the House to brief MPs on the DKM saga after falling to appear before them last week.
According to the finance minister, DKM was registered as a savings and loans company in 2013 but breached the Bank of Ghana's regulations concerning the operations of microfinance companies, a situation that forced the Central Bank to close down the company.
The finance minister could not give details on what the GHS77 million cedis was used for.
Officials of the Bank of Ghana are scheduled to brief parliament in camera with details on the issue.
The Bank of Ghana in October 2015 froze accounts of DKM Microfinance after the central bank placed a 120 day moratorium on the company for flouting the Banking Act.
An audit report by the Bank of Ghana released to the Brong Ahafo Regional Security Council (REGSEC) established that DKM has no investment in the country and beyond after it collected huge amounts of money from numerous customers.
DKM, contrary to Bank of Ghana (BoG) regulation, set up subsidiary companies and lent people’s money to themselves, the report said.
About fifty persons were said to have committed suicide in the Brong Ahafo Region after several months of failed efforts to get back their monies.
The BoG revoked the licenses of some 70 microfinance and lending companies for failure to meet conditions precedent to the issuance of a final license last month.