Court acquits and discharges GCB Bank

Court_Hammer

Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - The Fast Track High Court on Monday acquitted and discharged the Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Mr Simon Dornoo, who was facing contempt charge for non-compliance of a court order.

The court presided over by Mr Justice N.M.C Abodakpi described the application filed by the applicants as incompetent.

He said the court order seeking the bank to pay the ex-workers was not served directly on Mr Simon Dornoo, MD of the Bank but somebody else.

The judge also said according to the company's code 137, there were other officers listed there and wondered why they chose to cite only the MD for contempt.

The Bank is said to have failed to comply with the court order, where judgment was given on May 26, 2011, for it to pay its ex-workers their pension entitlements within 60 days.

The Court of Appeal had unanimously ruled that the GCB Bank should apply its internal mechanisms to pay the pensioners their pension entitlements.

Mr Dornoo, MD of the Bank told the court in the last adjourned date on September 10, 2013 that he was unable to comply with the order because he was new in the Bank.

He also said all the documents about the ex-workers were destroyed and the Accountant who could get the information for him was also new in the organisation.

The judgment in the case was given on May 26, 2011, to pay the ex-workers within 60 days.

The subject of litigation between the pensioners and the GCB Bank was that on February 27, 1987, the Board of Directors of the Bank accepted the retired workers' proposals and approved new pensions based on the civil servants pension of 70 per cent of the existing basic salary.

Again the Board of Directors was reported to have agreed to pay the retired workers 70 per cent of the salary of those still in active service anytime the basic salaries of those in service were increased, which was also going to be based on the position at which the pensioner retired.

GNA