GH¢ 620m liquidity support: Ato Essien denies taking Gh¢ 200m

State Prosecutors have accused the Founder of the defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, of causing the insolvency of the bank by stealing about GH¢200 million of a GH¢620 million liquidity support given to the bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

The Prosecutor, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney, who was cross-examining Essien at the Accra High Court yesterday, put to him that he dishonestly appropriated about GH¢200 million for his personal use.

The prosecutor added that Essien used the said money to set up another bank called the Sovereign Bank and a company known as Ocean Spring.

Essien denied the assertion, stating that he only got GH¢27.5 million, which was legitimately paid to him by the Capital Bank for his role as a transaction advisor in securing the liquidity support from the BoG.

Also, he insisted that the GH¢200 million mentioned by the prosecutor was factually inaccurate because he was on trial on allegation of appropriating GH¢157 million, which was GH¢130 million for the establishment of the Sovereign Bank, and the GH¢27.5 million.

“My appropriation was only limited to the GH¢7.5 million which I legitimately earned and I had the right to use it the way I please,” he told the court.

Essien is standing trial with the Managing Director (MD) of the defunct bank, Fitzgerald Odonkor and the MD of MC Management Services, a company said to be owned by Essien, Tettey Nettey.

The prosecution has accused the three persons of engaging in various illegal acts that led to the dissipation of a chunk of the GH¢620 million liquidity support given to the Capital Bank by the BoG between June 2015 and November 2016.

The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to various counts of stealing, abetment to stealing, conspiracy to steal and money laundering.