Head of Mission for the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, Dr. John Apea, has defended convicted former Capital Bank founder William Ato Essien, stating that the GH¢90 million the state accused him of stealing was not stolen.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Dr. Apea explained:
“That GH¢90 million is extremely contentious to begin with. The case was made that liquidity support was given by the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank, the bank he founded. I’m here to tell you that this liquidity support was not free money; it was a loan—a commercial loan at 28 percent per annum.”
He said the GH¢90 million was part of a liquidity support loan from the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank, not a bailout or grant.
“Until Capital Bank was closed, they were paying GH¢14.4 million every month without default,” he added, claiming the bank had already repaid GH¢308 million before its closure,” he added.
Dr. Apea also stressed that Ato Essien was neither the Managing Director nor a member of the bank’s management team, but only acted as a facilitator in securing the loan.
Regarding the GH¢90 million restitution, Dr. Apea explained that the figure included a 300 percent interest slapped on what he described as a legal finder’s fee.
“He took GH¢27.5 million as a legal fee, which was lawful. Then they added 300 percent interest to it—making it GH¢62.5 million. Add the GH¢27.5 million to the interest, and that’s how they arrived at GH¢90 million,” he said.
“If you say Ato is paying back GH¢90 million, 62.5 million out of that was interest. Who puts 300 percent interest on a legal fee someone has taken?”
Dr. Apea argued that it was wrong to say Ato Essien committed a crime based on that transaction.
“If you claim the person made a mistake, let him pay just the GH¢27.5 million. But to say he has committed a crime is unfair,” he asserted.
Ato Essien was convicted in December 2022 for stealing over GH¢90 million belonging to Capital Bank.
He avoided a custodial sentence after the court accepted an agreement between him and the Attorney-General for him to refund the money in installments.
Source: Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy
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