Banking Crisis: Duffuor Is Not Hiding From Police – Lawyer
Lawyer for Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, the founder of now-defunct uniBank, has debunked reports that his client is on the run and refusing to subject himself to questioning by investigators.
Charles Puozuing said Mr. Duffuor has been in the country and has already engaged some investigators over the collapse of his bank.
Some media reports last week indicated that the Ghana Police Service was on a nationwide manhunt for the Kwabena Duffuor Snr, former Chief Executive Officer of the bank, and a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama.
The reports also said the individuals have refused to honour several invitations extended to them by police officials.
But Charles Puozuing who was speaking on Eyewitness News said the idea of his client hiding from the police is false.
“My client has always been in the jurisdiction. Anytime my client is not in Accra, he is either in the village attending a funeral or as a citizen of the republic, solving other people’s problems. He is in Accra as we speak. I have been in touch with him. I spoke to him personally, I was with him on Wednesday. He has not left the jurisdiction, he is available, ready for the police. We met the Special Investigative Team on Monday morning,” the lawyer said.
Kwabena Duffuor Snr including eight others are facing charges over the respective roles they allegedly played in the eventual collapse of uniBank.
The defendants were sued by the bank’s receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo in September 2019 to retrieve some cash from them to pay depositors.
The plaintiff, among other reliefs, prayed for an order for the recovery of some 5.7 billion cedis it claims was unlawfully taken from the bank.
The plaintiff listed several assets and properties of the defendants and prayed the court to restrain them from selling, disposing of or dealing with same.
The prosecution has already slapped Mr. Duffuor and the eight other persons with new charges such as conspiracy to commit a crime, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering.
The central bank merged uniBank with other insolvent banks to form the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited in 2018.
Announcing the consolidation of uniBank along with the other banks on August 1, 2018, the Governor of the BoG, Dr. Ernest Addison said reports from the official administrator, KPMG stated that uniBank was balance sheet insolvent.
“Among other things, the bank's interest income and other sources of income are insufficient to cover the associated cost of funds of underlying borrowings and liabilities, as well as overheads of about GH¢0.31 billion per annum.”
These claims have, however, been challenged by the bank's directors.
—citinewsroom