ADB stops IPO as bribery allegations rock bank

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has indefinitely suspended its Initial Public Offer (IPO) that would have paved the way for it to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The decision follows a court injunction slapped on the IPO by the Supreme Court until the final determination of the case.

A week ago, Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo Markin, filed a fresh application at the Supreme in another effort to stop the bank from going ahead with its IPO.

He had prayed the Court to compel the ADB to seek parliamentary approval before going ahead with the planned IPO.

An earlier application which was filed at the Supreme Court by the MP for New Juaben South, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, seeking for same relief was officially withdrawn in July.

In the first week of August, an Accra High Court also threw out an application for an injunction that was brought against the bank by the Union of Commerce, Industry and Finance (UNICOF).

UNICOF had prayed to the Court to stop the bank from listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The Court argued in its ruling that if the relief being sought by UNICOF was granted, it would affect investors – Alas Mara and Norwegian Development Fund (NORFUND) that have invested heavily in the bank.

The IPO is aimed at raising about US$300million to revitalize the operations of the bank countrywide.

On Monday, a statement from the bank which was signed by its Resource Coordinator, Justice Apenkwa directed its agents to return all shares sold to the returning officer.

“Please be advised of the suspension of the Initial Public Offer of ADB shares until further notice. Kindly transfer what you have already sold to the returning officer/Financial Controller,” the statement in part read.

On the same day, reports went viral on social media platforms and on some radio stations suggesting that some funds had changed hands between the bank and Mr. Markin.

An audio tape recording which was played on some radio networks in Accra had a conversation between two men discussing how they plotted against the bank to make some money using the court action against the IPO as bait.

One of the men, it was alleged, was the Effutu legislator.