Duffuor & son’s lawyers rubbish criminal charges

The lawyers for Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and his son, Kwabena Duffuor Jnr, have rubbished the charges proffered against them by the state, following the collapse of now-defunct uniBank.

Dr. Duffuor, founder of uniBank, his son, Kwabena Duffuor II, who was Chief Operating Officer and subsequently Chief Executive of the bank, a former Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiama, along with six other senior-level officials of the defunct bank, have been charged with 68 counts, including fraudulent breach of trust, money laundering, dishonestly receiving and falsification of accounts.

But the lawyers, have said the charges are misplaced.

Lawyer for Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Charles Puozuing, said in an interview on Eyewitness News that: “Whatever is being discussed, we have no knowledge. We have also not been invited; as to when we are supposed to appear in court to be charged or for the charges to be read to us…Dr. Duffuor is not guilty of these [charges],” he said.

Also, a lawyer for Kwabena Duffuor II, Edudzi Tamakloe, said: “The facts that are attached to the charge sheet, does not constitute evidence. We will consider these charges at the appropriate circumstance before the court. We will respond to each one of them.”

UniBank, went into official administration on March 20, 2018 and eventually collapsed on August 1, 2018.

The local bank was one of five banks merged by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) into the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited.

Official Administrator, KPMG, in the course of its duties discovered that about GHS5.7 billion was owed by shareholders of UniBank as of March 20, 2018.

The GHS5.7 billion was the focus of a previous suit by Nii Amanor Dodoo, who was acting as the Receiver.

Among other things, the bank’s interest income and other sources of income were insufficient to cover the associated cost of funds of underlying borrowings and liabilities, as well as overheads of about GHS0.31 billion per annum

These claims have, however, been challenged by the bank’s directors and Dr. Duffuor, also sued to get the court to declare the license for the Consolidated Bank null and void.

The state had charged a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the founder of uniBank Ghana Limited and his son, as well as six others 68 offences for their roles leading to the collapse of the bank in 2017.

Kwabena Duffour, Hoda Holdings Limited, Johnson Pandit Asiama, Kwabena Duffour II, Ekow Nyarko Dadzie-Dennis, Elsie Dansoa Kyereh, Jeffrey Amon, Benjamin Ofori and Kwadwo Opoku Okoh, were cited in the charge sheet presented to the Accra High Court.

The charges, include conspiracy to money laundering, commit crime, fraudulent breach of trust and dishonestly appropriating funds of depositors.

In a document dated February 5, it said Kwabena Duffuor II and Ekow Nyarko Dadzie-Dennis in 2014, agreed to act together with a common purpose to dishonestly appropriate the sum of ¢48,269,477.75, which was entrusted to them in trust for depositors of uniBank Ghana Limited.

This, the state said amounts to a fraudulent breach of trust, contrary to section 128 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

According to the state, the two individuals transferred the said amount to related parties of uniBank Ghana Limited, knowing it to be proceeds of crime.

The two were also charged with coming together to dishonestly appropriate the sum of GH¢164,051,706.14, which was entrusted to them by depositors of the bank.