Berekum Barclays bank closed down

The operations of the Berekum Branch of the Barclays Bank Ghana Limited in the Brong-Ahafo on Wednesday came to a halt after bailiffs and the police stormed the bank to attach the movable property of the bank.

The bailiffs, who were acting upon a court order based on a default judgment debt, attached nine computers at the bank, including those at the counter and manager’s office, Oki printer, fire proof cabinet, Fujitsu Siemens Server Rack, Samsung LED TV, generator set and a router.

The development, DAILY GUIDE learnt, caused chaos at the premises of the bank, as the customers were forced to leave the banking hall.

The attachment of the movable property of the multinational bank was based on a si-sa (processes used to enforce the payment of a debt owed by a judgment debtor) filed on behalf of plaintiff/judgment creditor, Kwabena Sarpong, a former employee of the bank at the high court in Sunyani.

A Sunyani Fast Track High Court, presided over by Justice Alex Osei Tutu, on May 15, 2014 issued an order after a stay of execution filed by the defendant was partially granted to pay the plaintiff GH¢51,569.48, being the principal judgment debt and costs.

Mr. Sarpong, a former Customer Advisor at the Berekum Branch of Barclays Bank, took the action after he was dismissed by the bank on September 30, 2010. This followed some fraudulent transactions by a crook that took place at various branches of the bank in Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions between June 2009 and November 2009.

The said crook, Paul Mensah effectively took over a client’s account, manipulated the whole bank system of operation. While the real bank customer called Billy Joe Degbe was in Japan, the crook managed to withdraw sums of money from the customer’s foreign/dollar account at the Tanoso, Sunyani and Berekum branches, all totaling $37,500.00 and bolted away.

Some staff were questioned, but interestingly the plaintiff was singled out and dismissed for allegedly authorizing some of the said transactions, which was beyond his jurisdiction. He filed a suit against the bank at the court, which ruled in his favour on July 3, 2013.

The trial judge, Justice Ofosu Quartey described the plaintiff’s dismissal by the bank as “not only wrongful but unconstitutional and illegal in terms of the bank’s own regulations.”

The court, therefore, awarded general damages of two years’ salary against the multinational bank and costs assessed at GH¢6,000 in favour of the plaintiff. It further ordered Barclays Bank to pay the plaintiff all salaries, allowances and benefits due him till the date of the final judgment with interest at the current and prevailing bank rate.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff has accused Barclays Bank of adopting a “devil-may-care” attitude and disregarded the orders of the court.