Paa Kwesi Nduom to challenge GN Bank’s license revocation in High Court

Ghanaian tycoon Paa Kwesi Nduom has been granted permission by Ghana’s Supreme Court to proceed with a lawsuit in the High Court, challenging the suspension of GH Bank’s license.

This decision from the Supreme Court follows a previous ruling that invalidated the Court of Appeal’s decision, which had previously prevented Nduom from contesting the license revocation at the High Court.

On Wed., July 19, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the jurisdiction of the High Court to handle the lawsuit filed against the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in August 2019. With the highest court’s ruling supporting the decision of the High Court, the path is now clear for further proceedings and judgment.

The case will now return to the High Court for its ruling on the filed main motion.

In 2018, as part of efforts to clean up the banking industry, the Bank of Ghana revoked the licenses of several financial institutions, including GN Bank, which Ndoum’s conglomerate, Groupe Ndoum, controlled.

Nduom, the founder of GN Bank, filed a lawsuit in the High Court seeking to overturn the license revocation.

However, the respondents in the case, including the Bank of Ghana, argued that arbitration is the proper forum for challenging the revocation under the Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act.

The Court of Appeal granted their application, resulting in a stay of proceedings at the High Court, and directed the parties to pursue arbitration. Subsequently, Groupe Ndoum appealed to the Supreme Court, where the ruling favored Nduom’s position.

Groupe Ndoum, founded by Nduom, is a multinational family holding business of Ghanaian and American origin, comprising more than 60 independent companies across various industries.