The General Manager of Atlas Commodities, Suzanne Opoku Boateng, has admitted that the company used a warehouse belonging to the Produce Buying Company (PBC) without board approval and without paying any fees.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, she explained that Atlas Commodities had been preparing its own depot, which was inspected by the Quality Control Company (QCC) in Hohoe but required renovations before it could be approved as a grading centre.
Ms. Opoku Boateng said PBC officials informally offered temporary access to their facility, which had not been in active use for cocoa purchases. She added that the company assumed the necessary internal approvals had been secured by PBC management.
She also clarified the ownership status of Atlas Commodities, noting that former beneficial owner Ato Boateng no longer holds any rights in the company. The shares are currently held in trust by lawyer Edinam Cofie.
“Lawyer Edinam Cofie currently holds the trust for the shares. The previous beneficial owner of Atlas Commodities was Ato Boateng, but he has since transferred all his rights to Edinam. We prepared our depot, but the PBC facilities were not included in it. We sent a letter to QCC in Hohoe to inform them that we had secured a depot. Upon inspection, they noted that it needed some finishing touches and renovations before it could be used as a grading centre. In the meantime, the PBC suggested that we use their depot since they hadn’t purchased cocoa there for a while. Due to our relationship with them, we assumed they would inform their management about this decision; however, that did not happen. As a result, we utilized their depot with the manager’s permission and did not pay for the use of the facility,” she explained.
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