The Bank of Ghana, the Attorney-General and the Receiver of defunct GN Saving and Loans, have been given ten days by the High Court to file their response to the suit challenging the revocation of the company’s license.
The court gave the order following the failure of the three defendants in the matter to file their responses as required by the procedures of the court.
Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom and other shareholders of GN Savings filed the application at the High Court on August 30, 2019, to challenge the revocation of their licence.
In the suit they described the revocation as “malicious, accusing the BoG of deliberately refusing to consider the entire portfolio of GN Savings’ assets in coming to the conclusion that GN Savings was insolvent. They prayed the Court to among other things, quash the decision of the Bank of Ghana and to restore GN Savings’ licence.
Nduom sues BoG, others over revocation of GN Savings and Loans License
On August 30, 2019, the Chairman of Group Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom sued the Bank of Ghana; Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta; Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo; and the Receiver for GN Savings and Loans, Eric Nana Nipah.
In his statement of claim, he said contrary to claims by the Bank of Ghana that GN Savings and Loans had its license revoked because the company was insolvent, the company, was in good standing and its government infrastructure project portfolio was in excess of GH¢2.2 billion, more than its liabilities.
He said most of the company’s funds had been invested in government projects as loans and advances to contractors who government through its ministries and agencies had hired to execute various projects.
Thus, his company would have been highly liquid if the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies had paid debts of over GHS 600 million owed to it.
He therefore asked the court to rule that the failure of the BoG to consider that indebtedness of the Government of Ghana and its MDAs to Group Nduom before declaring GN Savings and Loans to be insolvent, constitutes a violation of his rights, that of Group Nduom and Coconut Grove Resort.
Order BoG to restore license
Also, on 17th April, 2020, the shareholders of GN Savings and Loans prayed the High Court to order the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to restore their specialized deposit-taking licence.
This was contained in the written address that the lawyers filed on behalf of the shareholders.
“These actions were taken pursuant to Section 123 (1) of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), which requires the Bank of Ghana to revoke the licence of a Bank or Specialized Deposit-Taking Institution (SDI) where the Bank of Ghana determines that the institution is insolvent”, the revocation notice stated.