Second round of payment is Christmas gift - DKM customers

The second round of payment of the outstanding claims for over 41, 000 depositors of DKM Diamond Microfinance Company started yesterday, Monday, December 19, 2016.

This follows the completion of manual validation of the claims by the contracted firm, Price Water House Coopers, PWC. The Official Liquidator thus last week released the new list of verified claims for onward payment.

However, Maxwell Mahama the spokesperson for the aggrieved customers of the company has slammed the official liquidator, Bank of Ghana, and government over what he described as shoddy works done in liquidating the property of the embattled finance company.

Speaking in an interview with Kwame Tutu on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, Maxwell Mahama who was angry called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of DKM operators and staff of the Bank of Ghana.

He described the amount paid them as paltry adding, "this was not the amount of money we deposited at the finance company. Nobody has explained to us why they are paying us this paltry amount. Is this how to do liquidation?

Liquidation is lawful and so what kind of liquidation was done? The government of Ghana benefited from our deposits; they also agreed that it was not our fault that our deposits got locked and so if all these issues came up, why should we be given the paltry sum? Where are the things that were liquidated? We want to know.’’

Maxwell Mahama described the money paid them as ‘’Christmas gift and hampers’’ and does not reflect the amount of money they deposited. In his view, they are yet to be paid their money deposited to the company.

He has also challenged the incoming administration to conduct a holistic investigation into the matter and establish the source of the payment being made.

According to him, they are suspicious of the money that is being used to pay them by the liquidator.

Maxwell Mahama stressed they want to show their appreciation to the organization or individual that offered to pay them part of their deposits hence they should be informed.

He also described the process as cosmetics and has reiterated the need for further probe.

The number of affected customers he added are 93, 000 with a total of deposits amounting to GHC 540 million.

"The process is still the Old Testament, nothing has challenged and that is why we ascribed the whole thing as fraud, as cheat and as wicked attempt by the liquidator just to deceive the people and rob us again. The liquidator did a very bad job, it is a breach of the professional ethics…It is a bad deal between government and the liquidator. It is a draconian deal…I am disappointed in the liquidator and I challenge them to publish their report because it is an official liquidation, and so why should the documents be kept in secrecy?’’