Capital bank purchase claims false – Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his business associate Keli Gadzekpo have denied claims that they proposed to buy defunct Capital bank in 2016.

Founder of the bank, Ato Essien told Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana host, Paul Adom-Otchere that Mr. Ofori Atta and his associate asked him to sell the bank to them before the NPP won the 2016 polls.

“If the bank was that bad would the current finance minister and the board chairman of Enterprise Keli Gadzekpo come to my office to say we are interested to buy Capital bank? Ken Ofori Attah came to my office in 2016 to make that proposal,” he said.

However, in a statement, lawyers for the two accused businessmen said they never made a pitch for the now collapsed bank.

“We wish to place on record that neither Mr. Keli Gadzekpo nor Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta communicated to Mr. William Ato Essien an intention to acquire Capital Bank in 2016 as claimed by Mr. William Ato Essien. The claim by Mr. William Ato Essien against the two founders of Databank, a reputable Investment Bank, is plainly false, malicious and disingenuous”.

The statement also said “Our Clients reject and condemn the defamatory remarks and suggestions purporting to link our Clients in a negative way with the Banking sector clean up process that was decided, implemented, led and managed by the Bank of Ghana”.

Below are details of the statement

FALSE AND MALICIOUS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MESSRS KELI GADZEKPO AND KEN OFORI-ATTA BY MR. WILLIAM ATO ESSIEN, FOUNDER OF CAPITAL BANK (IN OFFICIAL LIQUIDATION)

On Thursday, September 26, Mr. William Ato Essien, the founder of Capital Bank (In Official Liquidation) appeared on Good Evening Ghana, a television interview programme on Metro TV, hosted by Mr Paul Adom Otchere.

During the said interview, Mr. William Ato Essien made inter alia, unsubstantiated and unchallenged claims, including a complete and palpable falsehood directed at Messrs Keli Gadzekpo (a board member of the Bank of Ghana since 2017) and Ken Ofori-Atta (the Finance Minister since 2017)(“our Clients”)

We have our Clients instructions to respond to the said unsubstantiated claims and falsehood perpetrated by the said Mr. William Ato Essien against our Clients as follows:

1. We wish to place on record that neither Mr. Keli Gadzekpo nor Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta communicated to Mr. William Ato Essien an intention to acquire Capital Bank in 2016 as claimed by Mr. William Ato Essien. The claim by Mr. William Ato Essien against the two founders of Databank, a reputable Investment Bank, is plainly false, malicious and disingenuous.

2. In any event, it may be worth stressing that an expression of interest, prior to examining the books of a Bank, cannot be stretched to mean or even imply an endorsement or confirmation that Capital Bank at that material time had a clean bill of health.

3. Our Clients reject and condemn the defamatory remarks and suggestions purporting to link our Clients in a negative way with the Banking sector clean up process that was decided, implemented, led and managed by the Bank of Ghana.

4. The role of the Ministry of Finance in the entire exercise was/is, primarily, focused on how to: (a) provide financial assistance within the country’s limited fiscal space to protect the funds of depositors; and (b) build stronger, healthier and internationally competitive Ghanaian-owned Banks.

5. It must also be underlined that the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, was/is not responsible for the events and/or decisions that led to the unfortunate collapse of any Bank in Ghana. His responsibility as Finance Minister was/is to manage the national economy and, more particularly the impact of such a major crisis – which commenced prior to the appointment of Mr Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister.

6. Mr. William Ato Essien’s sensationalist attack on Messrs. Keli Gadzekpo and Ken Ofori-Atta is false, unnecessary and diversionary.

…Signed…

Acquah-Sampson & Associates

Solicitors for Messrs. Keli Gadzekpo and Ken Ofori-Atta