Unibank shareholders file counter suit against receiver

Three out of the 17 defendants who were sued by the receiver of now-defunct Unibank, KPMG, have filed a counter suit against the auditing firm and the receiver over the collapse of the bank.

This comes after the receiver; Nii Amanor Dodoo sued the founder of the Unibank, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and 16 others for the same reason.

In a counter suit, the three argue that the Central Bank would not have revoked Unibank’s license but for what they claim are acts of misrepresentation and the rent-seeking behaviour of KPMG and the receiver.

The three, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Professor Newman Kusi and Boatemaa Kakra Duffuor Nyarko, are seeking a declaration that the procedure leading to the appointment of KPMG as an official administrator was unlawful, illegal, and contrary to the prevailing and acceptable custom of the banking industry and sector.

Again, they want the court to declare that the plaintiff was not authorized by law to set aside, impugn or interfere with any or all transactions duly entered into between Unibank and any of its customers.

The defendants further want the court to declare the purported imposition of sanctions and culpability on them for transactions done and concluded prior to the coming into force of Act 930, was contrary to Article 107 of the 1992 constitution.

The defendants also deny abusing their fiduciary duties and further indicate that it was on record to have obeyed all given rules from the Central Bank.

The Receiver for uniBank, Nii Amanor Dodoo, had earlier sued the 17 shareholders of the now-defunct bank over the repayment of a GHC 5.7 billion debt.

The GHC 5.7 billion debt, according to the receiver, was left by the shareholders.

The plaintiff, Nii Amanor Dodoo, contended that the defendants “have breached their duties as directors of uniBank Ghana Limited, and are liable for all the loss to uniBank Ghana ltd by their acts of breach.”

uniBank was one of the seven local banks that collapsed as a result of what the Central Bank has called poor corporate governance and mismanagement of depositors’ funds.

Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, one of the defendants in this case, and a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana sued the central bank over the revocation of uniBank’s operating license.

The central bank among others argued that the affected banks operated with severe capital constraints.

Back in March 2018, the central bank again announced that uniBank was also on the verge of collapse, and was taken over, with the audit firm, KPMG Ghana.

Unibank shareholders ‘cry foul.’

Shareholders of uniBank issued a statement in which they cited KPMG for allegedly engaging in a conflict of interest arrangement with the Bank of Ghana.

The shareholders, in a statement, said they have been denied access to the report by the Bank of Ghana without any reason.

“The recent appointment of KPMG as the Receiver in respect of some assets of uniBank and four other banks shows KPMG seeking to benefit from the report that it provided to the Bank of Ghana through a further paid engagement, a clear conflict of interest situation which does not put KPMG in a good light.”

Two shareholders of the defunct bank have dragged the Bank of Ghana to court cancelling its 51 percent stake in adb.

The shareholders, Belstar Capital Limited and Starmount Development Company Limited are seeking the annulment of the BoG’s decision.

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By: Marian Ansah/citinewsroom.com/Ghana

 

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