Financial sector clean-up: 13 Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions to be prosecuted as EOCO makes ready dockets
A report released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, stated that the dockets have equally been forwarded to the Attorney-General for advice.
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The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has prepared dockets for 13 Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions that were implicated in the 2017 banking sector crisis.
A report released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, stated that the dockets have equally been forwarded to the Attorney-General for advice.
“With BoG’s clearance, the Receiver collaborated with EOCO to investigate certain transactions relating to the 347 Microfinance Companies and 23 Savings and Loans and Finance House Companies in 2019. Dockets have been forwarded by EOCO to AG for advise and prosecution. EOCO has been following up with AG,” the report said.
The 13 institutions include CDH Saving and Loans, IFS Financial Services, Midland Savings and Loans, Goldman Capital Microfinance Company, GN Savings and Loans, Legacy Capital Savings and Loans, and Express Savings and Loans.
The rest are UniCredit Savings and Loans, Dream Finance Limited, FTC Capital Microfinance Company, Cypress Microfinance Company, DPF Microfinance Company, and Adom Sika Microfinance Company.
Just like in the ongoing criminal proceedings against some officails of UT bank and Capital Bank, EOCO and the Receiver of the Microfinance Finance Companies (MFCs) and Savings and Loans Companies (S&Ls), will act as prosecution witnesses in the event the cases go for trial.
The report also noted that the Receiver has referred 100 properties to EOCO to be investigated in order to ascertain their ownership status.
This includes 68 landed properties belonging to five MFCs and 32 relating to nine S&Ls.
“EOCO advised that freezing orders are obtained while they conduct their investigations,” the report said.
In 2017, the BoG started a financial sector clean-up that saw the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies or moneylenders, 15 savings and loans companies, eight finance house companies, and two non-bank financial institutions by the end of 2019.
The financial institutions were found to have persistently breached BoG regulations, had issues with the minimum regulatory capital, extreme risk-taking without the obligatory risk management, use of depositor’s investments to fund private ventures or businesses, frail corporate governance systems among others.
