Customers of Onward Investment are unsure about their fate following the Bank of Ghana's announcement that it cannot repay them.

The Central Bank froze the accounts of Onward Investments, which negatively affected the customers.

Operation of the company was halted after it was uncovered that it received deposits from the public and engaged in an online foreign exchange trading without license.

It lured customers with high interest of between 25 and 30 per cent on their deposits.

Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, former Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) told the Appointments Committee of Parliament in Accra on Monday that the bank cannot disburse the monies it retrieved from the coffers of company.

He was answering a question posed by Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Member of Parliament of Techiman North and former Minister of Ports, Railways and Harbour on the deposits of customers of Onward Investment.

Hon. Ameyaw-Akumfi wanted to know how the victims, who are low income earners, could access their deposits but Mr. Amissah Arthur noted 'the customers were cheated.'

He said only 10 per cent of the total deposits collected had been retrieved from the accounts of Onward Investments.

So far, the brains behind the illegal activities are said to be on the run but Mr. Amissah Arthur said Interpol was on their heels.

The former governor said though the company operated in Ghana for over two years 'it is difficult to supervise an institution that is operating illegally.'

However, more than 100 customers, led by one Frank Asante sued the Governor, the Bank of Ghana, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General and some other individuals in order to retrieve their monies.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur commiserated with the victims and said the Central Bank would pursue the case.

'We are sorry for them. The interest was too good to be true, but we will contest that charge very strongly.'

He warned the public not to get involved with institutions that promise interests that were too good to be true.

By Emelia Ennin Abbey