Duffour likely to lose expensive properties over KPMG suit – Lawyer
Major shareholder of the defunct uniBank, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor
The founder of uniBank, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, could lose all his highly valued properties to a fresh law suit brought against him by receivers of uniBank, Lawyer Benard Owiredu Donkor has said.
The Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo of KPMG, on Tuesday September, 4 2018, sued the former Finance Minister and 16 other shareholders of the now-defunct bank over a GH¢5.7 billion debt incurred by the bank.
The defendants are: Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, HODA Holdings Ltd, HODA Properties Ltd, Integrated Properties Ltd, Alban Logistics Ltd, Starlife Assurance, Bolton Portfolio Ltd and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor II.
The others are Opoku Gyamfi Boateng, Prof. Newman Kwadwo-Kusi, Owusu Ansah Awere, Ekow Nyarko Dadzie-Dennis, Clifford Duke Mettle, Boatemaa Kakra Duffour- Nyarko, Kofi Kyereh Darkwah, Nana Boakye Asafu-Adjaye and Alex Gaddiel Buabeng.
KPMG, among other things, is praying the High Court to hold all the defendants jointly liable for the debt and also direct Dr. Duffuor and the defendants to repay an amount of GH¢ 5,712,623,145 owed the bank prior to its merger.
The receiver of the bank is also seeking a declaration that assets acquired through the unlawful use of uniBank’s funds should be held in trust for the bank, and return or transfer all the assets listed in documents attached to the case taken out of uniBank.
To this end, Lawyer Owiredu Donkor, a private legal practitioner in an interview with Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang on Power 97.9FM on Wednesday noted that the reliefs being sought by KPMG or the receiver of uniBank Ghana Limited could lead to Dr. Duffuor losing many properties if the plaintiff is able to show beyond reasonable doubt that some properties of high value belong to the founder of the defunct bank.
“If the plaintiff identifies some properties of Dr Duffuor like Starlife Assurance, he can inform the court to get it for him,” he said.
Duffuor In Court
Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, Dr. Duffuor, a major shareholder of the defunct uniBank, sued the Bank of Ghana over the revocation of uniBank’s license and prayed the court to declare the license for the Consolidated bank null and void.
The plaintiffs, Kwabena Duffuor and Integrated Properties Limited, filed the suit at the Accra High Court, seeking an injunction on the Bank of Ghana’s processes of consolidating five local banks which included his own uniBank.
The suit was triggered by the revocation of the licenses of Sovereign, Royal, Beige, Construction and uniBank in August 2018.
The Bank of Ghana had explained that the banks were consolidated because they were facing severe liquidity issues.
Source: ghanaweb
