Assets of some persons believed to be complicit in the failure of now defunct Micro-Finance Institutions as well as Savings and Loans Companies have been frozen by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (OECO) to help the repayment of claimants of the defunct financial institutions according to a notice released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG). This follows an earlier request by the receiver of the defunct institutions for the law enforcement Agency to investigate the circumstances leading to the failures of the institutions.
It may be recalled that in 2019, the BoG announced the revocation licenses of a number of Savings and Loans Companies, Finance Houses, and Micro-Finance Institutions, citing among other things potential criminal actions on the part of these institutions and their Shareholders, Directors or Management, as the case may be.
“Following further investigations into the failure of these institutions by the Receivers appointed by BoG, these cases were referred to EOCO for advice. EOCO has conducted independent investigations into a number of these cases as listed below and has made recommendations to the Attorney General’s Department for consideration and possible prosecution.
In the meantime, EOCO has frozen and/or impounded some assets of such persons to help with reimbursements of the claimants of the defunct institutions,” BoG noted.
Among the Savings and Loans and Micro-Finance Institutions investigated according the BoG include but not limited to; Ideal Finance, Goldman Capital Microfinance, GN Savings and Loans, Midland Savings and Loans, Noble Dream Microfinance, Legacy Capital Savings and Loans, UniCredit Savings and Loans etc.
The BoG added that EOCO continues to work with the Attorney General’s Department to ensure speedy prosecutions of the persons believed to be suspects and complicit in the failures of the defunct institutions.
The statement ended by reassuring the general public that BoG would continue deepening its collaboration with EOCO and other law enforcement Agencies in the country, to help promote financial integrity and trust as well as confidence in the banking system.
Source: Mohammed Bomanso Issah (Real Estate Times Africa)
