7 business 'villains' of the year 2018

2018 has been a good business year for some. It has also been a bad business year for others.

Not every business person in Ghana will recognise 2018 as a good business year.

Below are some of the Ghanaians who did not have a good business year as they expected.

Nana Appiah Mensah

Nana Appiah Mensah who is popularly referred to as NAM1 is the Chief Executive Officer the embattled Ghanaian gold firm, Menzgold Ghana.

Earlier in the year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) warned citizens against depositing cash with Menzgold but the firm responded saying they do not take cash. The BoG said their business was illegal since they were not licensed by any regulatory authority. Menzgold responded saying their business does not fall under any regulatory authority in Ghana.

A few months later, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked directed the firm to stop taking deposits. This was after the SEC has started an investigation into their activities. Customers of the firm started besieging the branches of the company but did not receive their interests or principals.

Currently, the offices of Menzgold have been closed down in order to avoid any attacks on their workers.

Dr Kwabena Duffuor II

Duffuor II was the CEO of uniBank when the BoG revoked the licence of the bank and consolidated it with 4 others.

Duffuor II replaced Felix Nyarko-Pong as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of uniBank on June 1, 2017. Until that elevation, he served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the bank – a position he had held since June 2013.

Mike Nyinaku

Mike Nyinaku found The BEIGE Group (TBG) in 2008 after he worked for 10 years as an accountant. His investment bank was performing well and a choice of many until it was licenced to operate as a commercial bank.

He was the CEO when the bank collapsed. This left many disappointed since he had become a mentor to many young people.

Osei Asafo-Adjei

Mr Asafo-Adjei was CEO of The Royal Bank when it collapsed in August 2018.

He started his banking career as a credit officer of the Agricultural Development Bank (adb) in 1993. He worked with the Trust Bank as General Manager, Business Development, Head of Corporate Banking and Head of Corporate and Commercial Banking from 2004 to 2012. Until June 2016, he was the executive director of the Corporate Banking Division of HFC Bank Ltd.

With all this experience it came as a shock to many that it was during his tenure as MD that The Royal Bank collapsed.

Stephen Kprodzi

Stephen Kpordzih has over 30 years industry experience in credit risk, corporate finance, treasury, and debt structuring.

He worked as the CEO of Agricultural Development Bank (adb) before his appointment as head of the Construction Bank. He has also worked at Stanbic Bank, GCB Bank, Barclays Bank Ghana mostly in managerial positions.

When the Construction Bank collapsed under his watch many were surprised especially because of the positions and works he has done in other banks before accepting the role as CEO of the bank.

Johan Rheeder

Prior to his appointment at the Sovereign Bank, he was the CEO of Charter One Bank, Juba, South Sudan. He joined that institution from the Barclays African Group in Johannesburg where he was the head of Branchless Banking Delivery.

The Sovereign bank collapsed under his watch.

William Ato Essien

An internal report of the now-defunct Capital Bank showed that the founder of Capital Bank, William Ato Essien and two others owed the bank GHC 79.9 million at the time if the bank collapse.

This represented about 60 per cent of the total Third Party Funds. According to the report William Ato Essien owed the highest among the three.

The report indicated that of the GHC 79.9 million that was debited to William Ato Essien and the two other shareholders; Mr Essien is indebted to the tune of GHC77 million.

The other two shareholders Dr Stephen Enchill and Isaac Osah Thompson-Mensah.are indebted to the tune of GHC1.2 million and GHC1.5 million respectively.