The legislator for the Bawku Central, Mr. Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Central Bank to investigate efforts by the finance minister to sell the state’s shares from rescued banks to questionable third parties through his agents at the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This attempt by the finance minister to sell those securities according to Mr. Ayariga is “fraud” and hence needs to be “ceased” with all urgency.

Mr. Ayariga’s petition requested an investigation into the acts of Albert Essien, the Board Chairman of Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT), and Eric Otoo, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT).

According to the lawmaker, these two people “are coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana to implement the questionable transaction.”

Per the information acquired by the lawmaker, the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) has presented a prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking validation to authorize it to sell off its shares in these banks to some private people whose identities are still being investigated.

“The Minister of Finance through GAT is currently using GAT’s position as a shareholder in these banks to questionably offload GAT’s investments to individuals in an obvious scheme to pass on value in an undeserving way to those individuals.

“This conduct of GAT is completely unacceptable as GAT invested in these banks by purchasing its shares at a discounted rate from its existing shareholders. GAT cannot therefore be seen within only two (2) years after its equity investment in the banks to be taking steps to sell off its shares to these individuals who must be investigated.”
Excerpts from Mr. Ayariga’s Petition

The Member of Parliament, thus, demanded an investigation into GAT’s appointment of political directors who are government officials.

These appointments are “problematic,” according to the Bawku Central MP, because GAT’s business model “gives room for political agents to disturb and politicize operations of these banks which the Bank of Ghana had already identified to be well-governed and well-managed.”

Legal Action and Parliamentary Probe

The Bawku Central lawmaker equally threatened that if Central Bank does not act on the petition, it will be considered a co-conspirator and face serious consequences if the transaction is later shown to be illegitimate. In addition to the warnings, the legislator gave the Bank of Ghana a five-day deadline to stop the sale or risk court action and a parliamentary investigation.

“It is therefore our hope that the above concerns will be thoroughly investigated by BoG. We believe that the cease-and-desist letter to GAT Chairman and the CEO will be complied with to preserve sanity in the Banking Sector. If they refuse to heed this advice to stop the fraudulent IPO, we will certainly cause a thorough parliamentary inquiry and investigation into this whole saga. In the meantime, we will have no other option than to take legal action against the BoG, SEC and GAT in this matter for their various roles in this questionable transaction.”
Excerpts from Mr. Ayariga’s Petition

The Bawku Central MP sounded very livid in his petition and urged the Bank of Ghana to accord all seriousness to the petition.

“We await your response and action within 5 days from receipt of this letter. We will not hesitate to take further actions in the best interest of the Tax Payer and Ghanaians in general, should your Office fail or neglect to cause an investigation into the matters raised.”
Excerpts from Mr. Ayariga’s Petition