BoG to take legal action against Ex-Directors of Unibank, others

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has served notice that it will soon take legal actions against the former directors of the seven collapsed banks - Royal Bank, Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank, The construction Bank and Unibank.

A statement released by the Governor of the BoG, Ernest Addison on Wednesday August 15 said : “As part of efforts by the current leadership of the Bank of Ghana to introduce more accountability and integrity both within the Bank itself and in the industry, persons whose actions contributed to the collapse of the 7 banks will not be shielded, but will be made to face the full rigour of the relevant laws of Ghana. The Bank of Ghana will pursue administrative and civil action against such persons, and will liaise with relevant investigative and prosecutorial agencies of the State to take appropriate action as needed.

"Furthermore, the Bank of Ghana has recently established a new office called the Office of Ethics and Internal Investigations to strengthen good governance within the Bank and to promote the highest standards of ethical conduct commensurate with the Bank’s mandate. The Office will investigate all allegations of misconduct by staff including any role in respect of the collapse of the defunct banks. Staff found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with our Human Resource policies, and referred to law enforcement agencies, if necessary.”

The statement added : “To promote the highest standards of conduct in the industry, the Bank of Ghana has also recently issued a number of Directives to strengthen corporate governance, risk management, and the capital base of banks. The Bank of Ghana remains committed to promoting a strong, stable, and viable banking industry built on the values of trust, confidence, and integrity, to support robust macroeconomic development.”

The collapsed banks were put under new name, Consolidated Bank. The government committed 450 million cedis to support this bank.