Regional police commander, DCOP Emmanuel Teye Cudjoe, says the suspects follow their victims after withdrawing large sums of money from a financial institution and break into their vehicles to rob.

Their operations have been going on for over the past one month.

Two suspects were identified from police intelligence gathering, supported by footage from the intelligence video surveillance (IVS) system monitored at the police emergency command center.

A gold-coloured Toyota Highlander with registration number GT 2471-14 and a black Toyota Highlander with registration number GX 7124-12 were confirmed to be used for the robbery. Both vehicles were found to bear fake license plates.

According to the police commander, on Thursday 19th June 2025, around 10am, the police successfully arrested other three suspects: Russell Ekenze, 29 years, a taxi driver, Francis Friday, 49years, and Linus Agwazie, a 51-year-old trader.

DCOP Teye Cudjoe in his press briefing said during their interrogation the suspects confessed being part of a large criminal syndicate.

“They admitted to carrying out similar thefts at several locations within Kumasi, including Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Mayanka, Asokwa, Kumasi Central Mosque, ShopRite and Georgia Hotel area.

They also named other members of the syndicate as Cosmas Maduabuchukwu, Ezuchukwu, C.J, DD and Lele,” he said.

He added that Cosmas Maduabuchukwu sustained gunshot wounds during an attempted arrest and managed to flee.

Six suspects are currently in police custody and the two vehicles used by the syndicate have been impounded. A manhunt is underway to arrest Cosmos Maduabuchukwu and other accomplices still at large.

“Preliminary findings indicate that all members of the syndicate are Nigerian nationals with exception DD who is a Ghanaian and they have been arranged before the court for lawful remand,” said the police.

The police command has assured the public of its commitment to ensure the safety and security of all residents in the region.

She disclosed this initiative during her vetting before the Appointments Committee on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

The proposed bank, to be set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, will provide women in business with access to credit at low-interest rates and flexible repayment terms.

Dr. Lartey emphasized that this initiative aims to address the financial challenges faced by women in growing their businesses.

“Many women have the ideas and skills but lack the financial resources to take their businesses to the next level. The Women Development Bank will bridge that gap and empower them economically,” she said.

Highlighting the broader vision of the ministry, Dr. Lartey explained that the bank would not only focus on access to credit but also offer training and capacity-building programs.

“We will ensure that women receive the financial literacy and business development training they need to maximize the benefits of these loans. This is about building sustainable businesses that can thrive and contribute to the economy,” she added.

The minister-designate expressed her commitment to championing policies that prioritize the welfare of women and children, emphasizing the transformative impact of economic empowerment. “An empowered woman strengthens her family and community.

This initiative is a step toward breaking the cycle of poverty and creating opportunities for all,” Dr. Lartey concluded.

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Banks, he stated in an interview on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition, are increasingly vigilant about monitoring staff’s lifestyle changes to detect any signs of fraud or illicit income sources.

Drawing on a personal experience, John Awuah recounted, “I remember 22 years ago, working with Standard Chartered Bank, I bought a car, and HR contacted me, asking how I could afford it without a staff loan.

“They needed assurance that my income could support such a purchase.”

He believes such inquiries serve as a deterrent, signalling to employees that financial transparency is essential to maintaining integrity.

Mr Awuah explained that lifestyle audits are not intrusive but act as a safeguard.

“When HR attends your wedding or other significant events, they’re there to see if the scale aligns with your financial capacity,” he noted, underscoring that these audits help identify any mismatch between an employee’s lifestyle and their income.

“It’s not an intrusive review, but a check to ensure transparency and accountability,” he clarified.

The banker’s lifestyle audit, John Awuah argues, is fundamental in minimizing fraud risks.

“Even when people are successful in fraud, it’s harder for them to spend that money without raising suspicions,” he added.

These measures, in his view, ensure that staff remain within their financial boundaries, promoting a culture of accountability.

However, John Awuah also identified the need for banks to educate employees on personal financial management.

“Salary is not magic. If your salary doubles today, in two years, your expenses may catch up,” he cautioned.

For Mr Awuah, maintaining financial discipline is key, emphasizing that banking staff should live within their means and prepare for unforeseen events.

He ended the interview with a call to action, noting that personal financial management can prevent lifestyle pressures that may lead staff to commit fraud.

“You are not living for today alone; you are living for tomorrow and beyond,” he advised, stressing the importance of sustainable spending habits that align with ethical standards in the banking industry.

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There have been reports that the Bank is working to introduce the coins – samples of which have been circulated on social media platforms.

Speaking to Joy Business, the Director for Currency Management at the BoG, Dominic Owusu said the reports are false

He pointed out that the BoG will always embark on an extensive public and media education before it introduces new notes or coins into circulation.

“When there is a currency issuance or change, the Bank of Ghana will come with an appropriate press release to inform the public. We saw on social media that the central bank will issue a ¢500 note or coin but the bank has not done any such thing. So it’s not true, “he said.

Mr. Owusu explained that the introduction of a new currency or withdrawal of same is an important exercise that is always thoroughly planned by the Bank of Ghana.

This, he said enables the public to understand the value and usage of such currencies.

He urged the public to disregard social media stories that suggest that the Bank of Ghana is introducing new currencies without official statement from the bank.

Touching on reports that the one pesewas coin is no longer a legal tender and it’s out of circulation, Mr. Owusu maintained that the coin should be used for transactions and must be accepted by customers.

“That’s why we are here, so help us to circulate those information that those coins are still legal tender and must be used for transactions. The central bank has not demonetize the one pesewa coin,” he maintained.

The Bank of Ghana however said it remains committed to embarking on various sensitisation programmes to educate Ghanaians on how the currency can be handled.

“We want the education out there for people to learn how to handle the cedi not to worn out. That’s why you journalist are here and I want you to help the central bank in that quest. The bank is also doing its part and will make sure all is done to save the cedi”, he added.

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Fox News reports that Donald Santacroce walked into a Wells Fargo in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he walked up to the bank teller and handed over a note that read, “please pardon me for doing this but this is a robbery. Please give me $1.00. Thank you.”

Staff then asked him to leave after they gave him the money but he decided to stay put and wait for authorities in the lobby.

He apparently also made a comment about how long the police were taking and that those in the bank were “lucky [he] didn’t have a gun,” per the arrest affidavit. That comment prompted the bank’s manager and employees to safely hide in the back room.

When police arrived, he handed the money over, admitted to robbing the bank, and said he wanted to go to federal prison since he committed a federal crime. He was arrested and later charged with felony robbery. 

It’s not known why he wanted to go to a federal prison. However, he told police that if he was released from jail, he would continue to rob banks until he was incarcerated in a federal facility.

No injuries were reported following the robbery. Santacroce is not in custody anymore.

The robbery follows another arrest from last week when he was apprehended by Utah Highway Patrol for a DUI and careless driving, per NBC News. At the time, it was discovered that he was driving on a suspended Missouri license.

The elderly man went haywire on bank officials while explaining how N1.5 million (over GHS 40,000) vanished from his account despite not making any transaction.

In a video which has since gone viral, the aggrieved customer stripped off his clothes and hopped on the counter, paying no heed to the assurance of the staff.

He demanded a full refund while threatening not to let them have any peace until he receives his money.

Watch video below:

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The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which made this known, said the suspects were said to have engaged the bank official (name withheld) to provide them with bank account details and phone numbers of their victims to assist them withdraw funds from their accounts, while the telco staff was contacted to clone the phone numbers of the victims for the operation.

This was revealed after four of the suspects namely Stephen Arthur, Nicholas Gyekye, Ahmed Ansah and Daniel Kodzi were paraded before an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Ellen Ofei-Ayeh on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to nine counts of conspiracy to steal, attempt to steal, and participating in an organised criminal group.

Two  of them – Stephen Arthur and Nicholas Gyekye – were each granted bail in the sum of GH¢6 million with three sureties, who should be gainfully employed, while the remaining two –  Ahmed Ansah and Daniel Kodzi – were each granted bail in the sum of GH¢5 million with three sureties, who should also be gainfully employed.

The case has been adjourned to May 17, 2022 for hearing.

The four accused persons were arrested by officers of EOCO for attempting to illegally withdraw an amount of GH¢2,100,000 from the accounts of some customers of one of the indigenous banks.

They requested for phone numbers and bank account details of customers with huge balances.

The accused persons allegedly connived with the telco staff who managed to clone the phone numbers of some three customers with the intention of stealing GH¢850,000; GH¢680,000 and GH¢50,000 respectively belonging to the customers. The accused persons setup a mobile application with the cloned SIMs to withdraw the funds from the customers’ bank accounts. They were arrested as they sought to withdraw the afore-stated amounts.

A fifth suspect is assisting EOCO in its investigations as a witness.

The neatly dressed gentleman put shame aside as he tackled bank officials for failing to address his issues but take delight in debiting him unnecessarily.

Despite attempts by staff and security guards to calm him down, the gentleman kept ranting on top of his voice as other clients looked on.

You dey whine me, I came here yesterday, they commot my money, I came here today too they commot. Shey na you dey work for me,” he is heard quizzing in pidgin English.

The video has since made its way to the internet, with netizens sharing in his pain.

Recently, an elderly man went naked after a bank refused to process the withdrawal of his savings.

Frustrated by the back-and-forth, the elderly man stripped in protest of the poor service of the bank.

Watch video below:

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A post shared by Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja)

In a video sighted on Gistreel.com, the man is said to have demanded his money from the bank five days prior, to foot hospital bills.

But, he is said to have been sent away, after the staff allegedly demanded his son’s affidavit from court.

Witnesses stated that the customer died due to ‘frustration and unfriendly treatment’ by the attendants.

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In the video making rounds online, an alleged daughter of the man is heard raving mad and demanding accountability from the bank.

Watch video below:

According to sources, the armed robbers trailed the couple to the bank where they had reportedly withdrawn some money.

As the couple drove out in their white Sonata, witnesses told Adom News’ Lord Tawiah that the miscreants, driving motorcycles, followed the victims.

Upon reaching Amanful East, a suburb of Takoradi, the victims sensed danger and parked their car in the middle of the road, but that did not deter the robbers.

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Witnesses said the men rushed to the occupants of the car and asked for the cash before giving each of them two bullets in the thigh.

The robbers are said to have reached out for the money before speeding off in full glare of some shaken traders.

The victims were immediately aided and transported to the Effiakwanta Hospital where they are currently receiving treatment.

According to the young man who has a total of N668 in his bank account, “God will never allow us take what doesn’t belong to us no matter our level of lack.”

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It was learnt that the money was wrongfully transferred to his account from an Abuja based company.

As at the time of this report, many have taken to social media to react to the news. While many failed to understand why he returned the lump sum despite his level of lack, others believed Anderson had done the right thing.

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Anderson was sure to note that it was God who gave him the grace to carry out the honest move successfully.

A Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, has said that the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is limited in his appreciation of the issues following the clean-up exercise of the financial sector by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

He is of the firm conviction that the reforms that have seen the revocation of the licenses of 420 financial institutions in the last two years were deliberately engineered by the government to collapse some financial institutions.

According to him, the fact that Dr Bawumia once served as a Deputy Governor of the BoG, does not necessarily mean he is good at technical financial matters.

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“Dr Bawumia should know that his government is doing nothing to salvage the mess in the financial sector. The mere fact that a person worked at BoG does not mean he knows Ghana’s financial problems.

“The challenge we are facing now is a technical financial matter and Bawumia has no knowledge about it. What he knows best is the re-denomination of the cedi and even in school, he majored in a programme on the 1992 election. What does that got to do with the banks? Bawumia is just not a technical financial person,” he told Accra based Okay FM, monitored by Adomonline.com.

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Dr Bawumia has said that the mode of clean-up by the Central Bank is the best considering the nature of the rot.

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Source: Adomonline.com | Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy

Dr Gideon Boako, spokesperson for the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, says claims by Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom that the government’s indebtedness to GN Savings and Loans caused its collapse are false.

According to him, the government rather owes contractors who are indebted to GN Savings and Loans.

To Dr Boako, Dr Nduom is only throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians and therefore should be disregarded.

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“It is not true that government owes GN Savings and Loans. Government rather owes contractors about GH¢30 million. That is what we aware. And so the money they are referring to is false,” he told Accra based Okay FM, monitored by Adomonline.com

D Nduom has said that the government’s indebtedness to GN Savings and Loans caused the collapse of his company.

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But, Dr Boako believes GN Savings and Loans made a mistake by advancing customers’ deposits to Gold Coast Security, a subsidiary company that breached the regulatory requirements by advancing loans to contractors.

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Source: Adomonline.com | Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy

Former President John Mahama has described the path chosen by the Akufo-Addo-led government in cleaning-up the Ghanaian financial sector as a chaotic path.

“Was the revocation the best option at this circumstance or there was no option? Our Central Bank chose the chaotic situation with accompanying huge debt where the government has no clue on how to clear it,” he said.

According to Mr Mahama, the State could have explored alternatives that could have reduced the burden and despondency that have affected customers and employees of some financial institutions in Ghana.

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Addressing Ghanaians in his maiden Facebook live encounter, Mr Mahama gave the assurance that a future National Democratic Congress government will adopt more effective and efficient measures for the financial sectors.

“Revocation of licenses would have been the last resort and not the first resort. No country is immune to crisis in the financial sector, “he said.

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The Bank of Ghana on Friday, August 16, 2019, revoked the licenses of 23 savings and loans companies and Finance Houses after a similar action a year ago.

Source: Adomonline.com | Gertrude Otchere

The Vice President of Groupe Nduom has described as irrational the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) statement that sought to justify why GN Savings and Loans Limited was closed down by the entity.

Nana Ofori Owusu said the move by the Central Bank was an attempt by the bank “to kill an entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to be able to provide opportunity to Ghanaians.

“You are quick to destroy business but you are not quick to pay the monies you owed us. Is it fair? It’s not rational and we sit down unconcerned as a nation. What is going on is injustice and an attempt to murder Nduom,” he said angrily on Accra based Neat FM, monitored by Adomonline.com.

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Groupe Nduom lost its license alongside 22 other Savings and Loans Companies and Financial Houses.

The BoG said “the revocation of the licences of these institutions has become necessary because they are insolvent even after a reasonable period within which the Bank of Ghana has engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalised by their shareholders to return them to solvency.”

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But, Mr Owusu said work is ongoing to challenge the revocation of the licence of GN Savings and Loans in court.

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“We are saying that this grievous misrepresentation of the facts is a travesty of process and we have to go to the court to seek redress in this matter and we are on it. The team is on it,” he added.

He said the company currently feels “scandalised and we feel that a breach of good trust and faith has been committed.”

Source: Adomonline.com | Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy

It has emerged that failure by members of the Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies to heed to advice landed them in their current state.

The National Chairman of the Association, Mr Collins Amponsah-Mensah, believes if not for that conduct by some members, they would not have gotten to the point of collapse.

“Some members just failed to heed to advice and I would say we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are today. With this job, if one company refuses to listen to advice and it collapses, it affects other microfinance companies as well. They refuse to do due diligence when it comes to their clients and thus, allow their companies to collapse,” he said.

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He was speaking on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Tuesday.

Mr Amponsah-Mensah’s comments was in reaction to the Bank of Ghana’s decision to revoke the operating license of some 347 microfinance companies in the country.

One-hundred-and-fifty–five companies had already ceased operations due to insolvency, while 192 had their license revoked on Friday.

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The Central Bank has, therefore, appointed Mr Eric Nipah, a Director of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Ghana) Limited (PwC) as Receiver for all the 347 microfinance companies whose licenses were revoked last Friday.

But to Mr Amponsah-Mensah, though they back the Central Bank’s decision, they are disappointed in Bank of Ghana for failing to consult them in the implementation process, a situation he described as very problematic.

“Bank of Ghana knows we back them because most of the processes we met and had it with them but we are very worried now because they failed to consult us during the implementation so it came to us as a shock,” he noted.

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He said as an Association, they expected the Bank of Ghana to have included them in the proposals.

Mr Amponsah-Mensah noted that his outfit discussed with the Bank of Ghana for mergers as part of moves to strengthen and consolidate institutions in the sector, but that was not taken.

Source: Adomonline.com | Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy

Kwame Acheampong Kyei resigned as the Board Chairman of the now defunct Sovereign Bank shortly before the revocation of operating licence by the central bank.

Mr Kyei stated in a letter dated August 22 and addressed to President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that “in view of the recent developments relating to my association with the purchase and assumption of Sovereign Bank, and the resulting unfortunate furore in the media I have decided to voluntarily step down as Chairman/Member of the Board of BOST for the time being.”

According to the Bank of Ghana, Sovereign Bank was closed down because it obtained its banking licence under false pretences through the use of suspicious and non-existent capital.

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However, in the wake of media discussions of the collapse of the bank, Dr. Kwame Acheampong Kyei explained that he resigned from the Board of Sovereign Bank in March 2018, when he noticed that certain improprieties had taken place in the management of the affairs of the bank without his knowledge.

He suggests that he left Sovereign Bank at least five months before the Bank of Ghana clampdown on the banking sector in August 2018.

Mr Kyei was inaugurated as Chair of a nine-member Board of Directors of BOST in September, however, in the wake of the Sovereign Bank scandal, there were calls for him to step down.

Critics such as Africa Centre for Integrity and Development (ACID-Africa), an anti-corruption advocacy civil society organisation, said the allegation against Sovereign Bank and its Board — and by extension Mr. Kyei — by the central bank made him unfit to be Board Chair of BOST.

In his letter of resignation, Mr Kyei explains that he was leaving his post at BOST “in order to save Government and BOST what is unfortunately distractive adverse commentary and propaganda in sections of the media.”

He, however, clarified: “for the record, this resignation is not an admission of any complicity and/or wrongdoing or whatsoever.”

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Bank of Ghana action

The Bank of Ghana on August 1 granted a universal banking licence to Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited established by the Government.

The Bank of Ghana also on the same day revoked the licences of uniBank Ghana Limited, The Royal Bank Limited, Beige Bank Limited, Sovereign Bank Limited, and Construction Bank Limited and merged them in the Consolidated Bank.

The central bank appointed Mr. Nii Amanor Dodoo of KPMG as the Receiver for the five banks.

Sovereign Bank: BoG explains reasons for revocation of licence

Sovereign Bank Limited was licensed as a universal bank in January 2016 and began operations in April 2016.

As part of Bank of Ghana’s investigations into the failure of Capital Bank Limited (currently in receivership), it emerged that Sovereign Bank’s initial capital contributed by its shareholders was funded from transfers from Capital Bank which had been presented to the Bank of Ghana as investments on behalf of the bank.

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Subsequent to its licensing, a substantial amount of the bank’s capital was placed with another financial institution as an investment for the bank. The bank has however not been able to retrieve this amount from the investment firm with which it was placed, and it has emerged that the investments were liquidated by the shareholders and parties related to them. Following enquiries by the Bank of Ghana, the promoters of the bank admitted that they did not pay for the shares they acquired in the bank.

The promoters of the bank have since surrendered their shares to the bank, while the directors representing those original shareholders have since resigned. In April 2018, the Bank of Ghana appointed an Advisor to advise the management of the bank with a view to improving the affairs of the bank. Following further deterioration in the capital of the bank due to its inability to recover the investments placed with financial institutions, as well as impairments to its loan book, its capital adequacy ratio is currently negative 11.

The Bank of Ghana has concluded that Sovereign Bank is insolvent, and that there is no reasonable prospect of a return to viability. The bank is unable to meet daily obligations as they fall due. Liquidity support granted so far to the bank amounts to GH¢12 million as of May 2018. The bank has not been able to publish its audited accounts for end-December, 2017 breaching section 90 (2) of Act 930.

The bank’s current situation has resulted in persistent breaches of key regulatory requirements and prudential limits.

In the statement of claim sighted by Myjoyonline.com, Dr Duffuor wants the High Court to order an injunction “restraining the [Bank of Ghana]  from expropriating uniBank by its purported vesting of ‘good assets and liabilities’ of uniBank in Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited and the revocation of the licence of uniBank.”

He also wants a declaration that the licence purportedly granted the Consolidated Bank “was not granted in accordance with Act 930 and is null and void.”

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uniBank’s operating licence was revoked on August 1, 2018, and along with four other banks, merged into the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited. The regulator explained that the consolidation of uniBank, Sovereign Bank, Royal Bank, The Beige Bank and Construction Bank became inevitable following liquidity challenges and breach of regulations by some of the banks.

According to the Bank of Ghana, the establishment of the Consolidated Bank is meant to protect Depositors funds, strengthen the financial system and rid the banking sector of fraud. The Bank of Ghana had mentioned, for instance, that Beige Bank and Sovereign Bank obtained operating licences by false pretences.

Before the revocation of uniBank’s licence on August 1, 2018, the Bank of Ghana appointed international audit firm, KPMG to ascertain the true financial condition of the bank, protect depositors’ funds and explore how the bank could be returned to viability within a period of no later than six months.

According to the Bank of Ghana, “KPMG’s reports confirmed, based on a detailed review and validation of the financial condition of uniBank that the bank was balance sheet insolvent at the time of their appointment as official administrator and remains so. As official administrator, KPMG made efforts to ascertain the assets and liabilities of the bank and evaluated options for turning around the bank’s fortunes.”

The Bank of Ghana further explained, ‘KPMG, however, found that the bank’s operations are not sustainable. 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.”

Dr Kwabena Duffuor

Dr Duffuor in his claim wants the High Court to declare that the purported revocation of the licence of uniBank is “null and void, being in breach of Articles 23 and 296 of the1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”

Before the suit dated August 20, shareholders of uniBank had issued a statement in which they cite KPMG for allegedly engaging in a conflict of interest arrangement with the banking regulator.

In a statement issued on Monday, August 20, 2018, the Shareholders state: “The recent appointment of KPMG as the Receiver in respect of some assets of uniBank and four other banks shows KPMG seeking to benefit from the report that it provided to the Bank of Ghana through a further paid engagement, a clear conflict of interest situation which does not put KPMG in a good light.”

Meanwhile, Dr Addison said recently at the 18th Working Luncheon of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GBA) that the decision to collapse some five troubled banks was a painful decision.

According to the Governor, he had a personal relationship with the Managing Directors of the some of the banks that he had to withdraw licences from.

Dr Addison states that he took the drastic action in the larger interest of the banking sector and the economy.

He said he predicted the turmoil in the banking sectors almost two years ago.

Interacting with Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwah on Atinka TV’s Ghana Nie Friday, the popular Prophet noted that the collapse of some of the banks in Ghana is an attack by spiritual forces to weaken the economy of Ghana.

To this, he said:” all these things happening in the banking sector is a fight on the economic level of Ghana and so we are praying that all the other banks will survive.”

He said he initially had wanted to keep silent on the matter but a Facebook post by a random person has triggered his response.

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Delving deeper, he said that the post in question had sought to attack men of God in Ghana that they couldn’t see through future on a national issue as such but they only prophesy the death of people.

In relation, he said: “I didn’t want to comment on this matter, but I want to correct this assertion by some Ghanaians that there are no genuine prophets in Ghana, I saw this thing coming but I didn’t want my media team to publish it…”

Speaking further, he said that he had earlier prophesied and met some of the managers of the collapsed banks, however, they treated the prophecy with contempt.

“I went to some of the managers of these banks to caution them on what I had seen concerning their bank, but they refused to pay heed to the prophecy… I told them that if there’s anything physical they are not doing right in the administration of their banks, they should correct all their wrongs.” He said.

“They later came to me to help them in prayers to avert the collapse of the bank, but it was too late…but I told them that we can only pray for the other banks who are currently functioning not to suffer the same fate,” he said.

He noted that these managers later sought for his spiritual direction to avert the situation of which he said that it had become late at the time.
He thus put across that if several prayers are not offered for some of the locally owned banks, they will soon go down.

He, however, pleaded with the populace to exercise patience in demanding their monies from savings and loans companies like the First Allied Savings and Loans, Midland Savings and Loans because they are working tirelessly to sustain their banks.

This will be in addition to the introduction of mechanisms that will forestall a repetition of the current challenges in the financial sector in the future.

The Information Minister-designate, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, said at a news conference in Accra on Wednesday that the government was fully committed to going full throttle to clean up the sector once and for all.

He said the measures were part of efforts to clean up and strengthen the financial services, so that they could engender confidence and perform optimally.

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“The challenges in the sector come in various forms — there are those who have their own challenges with the normal recoveries and there are those who literally went in to dip their hands into depositors’ money — and so for those who have been found culpable, sanctions will be brought to bear,” he emphasised.

“These objectives are being achieved simultaneously and it is being done in strict compliance with the legal and international best practices that are known to us,” he added.

The government has already pumped GH¢7.9 billion into emergency liquidity support for the distressed banks and to protect depositors’ funds.

This is in addition to the GH¢450 million used to capitalise the Consolidated Bank, the newly established entity that has absorbed the assets of the liquidated banks.

“The government is doing its best to ensure a full, firm and final resolution of the challenges that have bedeviled the financial sector,” the minister designate stressed.

But he cautioned that resolving the challenges could take some time, saying: “It may take a bit of time; it will be a difficult and expensive process, but the government is committed that it will be done.”

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Mr Oppong-Nkrumah stated that the cleaning up of the banking sector was not over yet and that it would be carried on until the entire industry was cleaned.

He said the government had stepped in to provide relief and protection for depositors and ensure that deposits were safe.

“The government is ready to use the legal means at its disposal to retrieve and, where necessary, punish those found culpable,” he emphasised.

The government, he said, fully backed the actions of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and had demonstrated that at all times.

The BoG has already announced plans to prosecute executives of the failed local lenders suspected to have dissipated depositors’ funds and carried out insider dealings.

It is also considering barring culpable directors from operating in the Ghanaian financial sector.

Bank failure

In a report on uniBank, the biggest of the failed lenders and ranked the country’s sixth largest lender by assets before its collapse, the BoG cited shareholders and other affiliates as taking for themselves GH¢5.3 billion ($1.1bn), representing 75 per cent of its total assets.

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It said GH¢3.7 billion of the funds taken by shareholders was neither granted through the normal credit delivery process nor reported in the bank’s loan books.

But the founder of uniBank, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, has rejected the charges.

The BoG, on August 1, 2018, revoked the licences of five badly performing banks and created the Consolidated Bank as the receiver to manage the assets of the five collapsed banks.

Collapsed banks

The collapsed banks are uniBank Ghana, the Royal Bank, the Beige Bank, the Sovereign Bank and the Construction Bank.

The BoG last year rolled out measures to strengthen the financial sector in the country, leading to the collapse of the UT and the Capital banks.

Ghana’s banking sector has faced challenges, such as poor corporate governance and risk management practices, related party transactions, regulatory non-compliance and poor supervision.

The crisis in the sector has triggered calls for the prosecution of the directors of the failed banks.

A banking consultant and finance expert, Dr Richmond Akwasi Atuahene has berated the former Board Chairman of Capital Bank, Rev. Dr Mensah Otabil for his comment on the collapsed bank.

A lot of criticisms have gone against the founder of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) after the Bank of Ghana (BoG) seized the licenses of UT and Capital banks in 2017 due to mismanagement.

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In response to his critics, Dr Mensah Otabil in a statement said “My position was a non-executive role. I was therefore not involved in the day-to-day management and operations of the Bank”.

But Dr Atuahene says a Board Chairman is responsible for everything that happens in the bank and cannot claim innocence of the happenings in the bank.

Dr Akwasi Atuahene has also advised Ghanaians to learn how to reject positions when they know they cannot handle it.

RELATED STORY: Otabil speaks on Capital Bank collapse

He says the attitude of bragging around with titles and positions has characterized Ghanaians so much that they take positions they know they cannot perform.

Meanwhile, a Business Strategy and Financial Services consultant, Kofi Bentil has lauded Dr Mensah Otabil for his response to the criticisms, saying his readiness to avail himself to authorities for probing is the right thing to do.

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Mr Bentil says it is true that Rev. Otabil was not involved in the daily running of affairs of the bank but is, however, responsible for whatever happens to the bank as Board Chairman.

Mr Bentil has blamed the BoG for their weak supervision that has led to the failure of the seven banks.

A former staff of defunct Capital Bank has recounted the painful story of how two of his former colleagues lost their lives due to the hardship they had to endure after losing their job.

Raymond Dayi Dankwa told Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s discussion programme Ghana Connect Friday, that they buried the first person on July 14 and they are preparing for the other person’s funeral.

“Our end of service package has still not been paid for both Capital and UT Bank staff. Before the closed down, some of us had leave days left that we were told were converted to cash but that has not been done,” he stated.

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This week, the country’s banking took another turbulent turn as five banks folded up and metamorphised into one bank – the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited.

Three of the banks, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) said used false pretense to obtain their banking licenses while two others were beyond saving.

On August 14, 2017, Capital Bank and UT Bank also suffered similar fate and BoG did not hesitate to close them down. GCB Bank inherited all the two banks’ assets and liabilities.

Recounting his experience Mr Dankwa said, “when I heard the news, I was trying to put myself in their shoes because life has not been easy since that announcement.

According to him, even while they were employed, his colleagues were finding it difficult to make ends meet so their new status only made things worse.

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The father of a seven-month-old baby said although the over 800 retrenched staff were made to sign a document signaling the preparedness of GCB Bank to pay them their End of Service Benefit (ESB), nothing has been heard about that.

“We were supposed to be paid before we exited so the payment schedule was out and all to make the termination binding. For some time now, we have been following up from the Union of Industry Commerce & Finance Workers (UNICOF), who were handling the compensation and payment of our ESB on behalf of the staff, but our calls and messages have gone unanswered,” he said.

According to him, their request to the receiver KPMG for a discount on their loans has also gone unanswered.

Watch a video of the discussion above:

A circuit court last Friday remanded 11 out of the 12 suspects into police custody to reappear on August 9, 2018, as investigations continue.

Friday evening, another suspect was arrested, bringing the total number to 12.

The suspects, believed to be part of a wider cybercrime syndicate made of Nigerians and Ghanaians, attempted transferring a whopping GH₵326 million from the vault of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) electronically.

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UMB, having suspected that its Information Technology Security infrastructure has been tampered with, quickly alerted the Financial Forensics Unit of the CID, who dispatched personnel to all branches to withdraw money from identified accounts credited with the money.

It was discovered that the accounts that the monies were credited to were all single-purpose accounts opened purposely to receive the stolen money, and UMB quickly flagged all the accounts.

It has emerged that even before the matter was reported to the police, about GH₵1 million of the money had been withdrawn from some of the accounts through Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates using internationally accepted credit cards.

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Meanwhile, UMB has issued a statement, touting the significant infrastructural investments made into the bank’s operational systems and the bank’s technical and security teams contributed in no small measure to averting the theft.

It said the Bank remains resilient and very committed to working with the security forces to clean the environment of any form of cyber miscreants.

“We wish our valued customers a fruitful new week,” it added.

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UMB is a full-service financial institution specialising in customised banking products and services.

It opened on March 15, 1972, and is a leading Ghanaian indigenous bank with considerable financial expertise.

Prince Kofi Selby, 32 denied the charges of stealing and forgery and pleaded not guilty was found guilty by the court after months of trial.

The Court presided over by Mrs Afia Nyarko Adu-Amankwah in addition, ordered the convict to refund the stolen amount.

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Prosecuting, Senior State Attorney, Vincent Nyinaku told the court that one Dr. Frank Odame, Medical Director at the hospital and Mr Emmanuel Bosompim, the Administrator are the complainants.

The hospital operates an account at the Gomoa Community Bank where the convict also has an account.

The Medical Doctor, the Nurse Manager and the Accountant are the signatories to the hospital’s account and two of the signatories could sign for withdrawal at any time.

The Prosecution said on Friday, March 9, 2018, the hospital requested the financial statement of their account and realised there had been separate unauthorised withdrawals from it.

It was detected that two withdrawals of GH¢4,800.00 and GH¢4980.00 were made on Saturday, March 3, 2016, while GH¢4,820.00 was also withdrawn.

Further checks by the hospital authorities revealed that the two signatures on the cheques were not signed by any of the three signatories despite its seeming likeness.

The hospital drew the attention of the police and the bank to the unauthorised withdrawals in their accounts and while some bank staff who were informed of the incident told the police they could identify the convict.

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Eventually, the convict was arrested at Mankessim and some employees of the bank identified him as the one who produced the unauthorised cheques and withdrew the monies.

A police search conducted in the convict’s room recovered two Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) deposit slips, one loan acceptance letter to Akatakyiman Rural Bank and a Komenda College of Education identity card.

Police forensic laboratory analysis of the original cheques used for the withdrawal from the bank, loan acceptance letter and the two deposit slips of ADB as well as the handwriting on the convict’s personal documents were the same as that on the three checks used for the withdrawal and he was charged with the offence, Mr Nyinaku added.

An armed police officer has been captured on video ruthlessly assaulting a woman in a bank despite the mother holding a little child in her arm.

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The circumstances surrounding the assault are not immediately known but the muscled officer is seen ferociously hitting the helpless woman with an umbrella and then repeatedly punching and slapping her in the face as though he were in a boxing duel with a worthy opponent.

Despite the punches and slaps, the poor woman held on tightly to her child until a man in the bank wrenched the baby out of her grip so the child could be taken out of harm’s way.

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The officer, who goes by the name Frederick Amanor Skalla did not give the slightest thought to the risk of his gun, slaps and blows hitting the little child in the melee but kept punching the woman with careless abandon.

A voice in the video kept saying he would pay, meaning the woman went to the bank to withdraw some amount of money but was refused by the police officer.

Adomonline.com will investigate and provide full details of the bank, the reason for the assault and the identities involved.

The amount constitutes 1,001 fraud incidents in 2016 reported to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

The bank investigated and analysed fraud and defalcation reports received from financial institutions.

These cases were received from universal banks, Non–Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs), and Rural and Community Banks (RCBs).

This is contained in the 2016 annual Payment Systems Oversight report published by the BoG.

Main fraud cases

The main fraud cases reported were suppression of customer accounts by staff of financial institutions, card fraud, forgery and alteration of documents, manipulation of accounts, and negotiable instruments.

Others included fraudulent collection of international remittances by persons not named as recipients, transactions involving cloned and stolen cheque, and fraudulent transfers through hacked email accounts, the report added.

1,529 Complaints from general public

The report also revealed that a total of 1,529 complaints were received from the general public with respect to banking business.

1,362 Cases against Non-Bank Financial Institutions

Out of this total, the report said 1,362 cases were complaints made by customers of Non-Bank Financial Institutions, especially microfinance institutions.

27 Complaints against Rural and Community Banks

Twenty complaints were received from customers of Rural and Community Banks.

140 Complaints against universal banks 

According to the report, the remaining 140 cases were reports from customers of universal banks and other financial institutions.

Types of complaints against banks 

BoG explained that the complaints received from the public covered aspects of banking service delivery such as unauthorised withdrawals from customer accounts, especially through internet banking, payment of international remittances to persons other than the intended beneficiaries, and ATM-related disputes.

50% of Complaints about non-payment of customers’ investments upon maturity
The report also revealed that complaints against financial institutions, particularly NBFIs and microfinance companies, which failed to pay customers’ investments upon maturity accounted for more than 50 per cent of the complaints received in 2016.

According to BoG, the complaints were investigated, with outcomes, decisions or rulings made communicated to the aggrieved parties.

The bank continued to monitor the implementation of its decisions on complaint issue until final resolution is achieved.

The notice, published Monday afternoon, notes that banks would be required to meet the required minimum capital through three main ways; fresh capital injection, capitalisation of income surplus and a combination of fresh capital injection and capitalisation of income surplus.

The central bank warned that banks will not be allowed to “capitalise revaluation reserves, reserves on financial instruments through other comprehensive income, statutory reserves, credit risk reserves and unaudited profit.”

Existing banks have up to December 31, 2018, to meet the new minimum paid up capital requirement in line with Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

Although the December 2018 deadline applies to operating banks and those with licences (“Approval in Principle”), the BoG said “all pending applications for banking licence i.e. without “Approval in Principle” are required to meet the new minimum capital requirement of GH¢400,000,000.00 and the feasibility reports accompanying such applications are to be amended accordingly.”

As part of the criteria, the central bank said are required to maintain a minimum unimpaired paid up capital as per Section 28 (1) and (3) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) of GH¢400 million by end of December 2018.

The explained that the recapitalisation was necessitated by understanding that “banks would require a more sophisticated and robust capital framework, adequate to transform the banking sector and consistent with the growing risks, levels of sophistication and exposure banks are currently facing.”

This is the fourth time since 2003 that the BoG is increasing the minimum capital for banks.

In 2003 it was increased to GH¢7 million as part of measures to strengthen the cash base of banks and strengthen their ability to contain risks.

In 2008, the capital was again increased to GH¢60 million. This was expected to safeguard the banks against risks.

It was doubled to GH¢120 million in 2012, forcing a few mergers and consolidations in the sector.

Indications are that the current increase will result in similar mergers to help shrink the numbers, increase banks’ response to risks and prepare them for big ticket transactions.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank on Monday, July 24, 2017, announced a reduction in the policy rate by 150 basis points to 21 per cent from 22.5 per cent, citing lower risk to inflation and growth.
“The disinflation process is still ongoing and this trend is likely to continue all through till the end of the third quarter,” Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, told a press conference.
“Barring any unanticipated shocks, the current stance of monetary policy and expected stability in the exchange rate should ensure price stability.
“In the outlook, expectations are for the observed decline in headline inflation to continue and converge towards the medium-term target of 8±2 per cent in 2018,” he added.
Moody’s notes that since November 2016, the central bank has cut the monetary policy rate by five percentage points from a peak of 26 per cent.

This most recent rate cut is the Bank’s fourth consecutive reduction since November, and is in response to the central bank’s expectation that Ghana’s inflation rate will fall to its 6 per cent to 10 per cent target range from 12.1 per cent in June, Moody’s said.
Moody’s believes that this latest monetary policy rate reduction will reduce banks’ lending rates and asset risks, which increased substantially in 2016 and caused banks’ nonperforming loans to rise to 21.7 per cent of gross loans as of May 2017 from 14.6 per cent at the beginning of 2016.
“We expect borrowers’ debt repayment burden to fall further as the average lending rate decreases. The system average lending rate declined to 30.5 per cent in April 2017 from 32.03 per cent in November 2016, when the Bank of Ghana first began lowering the monetary policy rate, and we expect additional reductions in the system’s average lending rate to follow. Lower lending rates, together with declining inflation, will provide cash flow relief to borrowers, improving their repayment capacity and improving banks’ asset quality, although the system’s nonperforming loan ratio will remain high,” it pointed out.
Moody’s further states that the rate cut and falling inflation also will support Ghana’s operating environment, boosting demand for new loans and benefiting banks’ revenue. Real private-sector credit contracted by 0.8 per cent in 2016 because of Ghana’s economic slowdown, during which real GDP growth decelerated to 3.5 per cent from an average of 7.7 per cent in 2010-15.
“We expect GDP growth to recover to 6.1 per cent this year and 7.5 per cent in 2018,” it said.
According to Moody’s the rate cut will reduce banks’ interest income earned from treasury bills, whose yields have already declined by an average of about 600 basis points since November 2016.
The banks’ investment in government bills and bonds, Moody’s says was high at 21 per cent of total assets as of April, and the Bank of Ghana classifies 72 per cent of these as short term, which creates reinvestment risks for banks.
“However, banks will partly offset the effect of lower interest income by reducing their deposit rates, thus lowering funding costs that constrained interest margins and profitability in 2016, albeit from a high base. As an example, the 90-day deposit cost increased to 15.25 per cent in April 2017 from 13 per cent in April 2016.
The increased cost of deposits reduced banks’ interest spread to 4.1 per cent from 5.1 per cent over the same period, lowering profitability as reflected by an average return on assets that fell to 4.0 per cent from 4.7 per cent over the same period,” the rating agency said.
However, for GCB Bank Limited (B3 stable, b31 ), the only Ghana-based bank that Moody’s rate,the egency indicated that the rate reduction will benefit its asset quality.
“However, the lower rate will likely harm GCB’s interest income because of its large sovereign debt portfolio (about 43 per cent of total assets as of the end of 2016),” it noted.

“People export and they don’t want to repatriate the proceeds, “he said. He added that,”we have gathered some clients who have failed to repatriate their foreign exchange back into Ghana, so we will call on them to produce evidence of their repatriation receipts.”

Speaking at the GT Bank sponsored Importers and Exporters Seminar in Accra, which came off at the Movenpick Hotel, Mr Hammond stressed that repatriating monies earned from exports is compulsory.

According to Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Act, exporters who fail to repatriate their export proceeds to Ghana are liable to a fine of five penalty points and they can also be imprisoned for not more than 10yrs.

“Exporters shall ensure repatriation of export proceeds in accordance with the terms of the export, provided that all export proceeds shall be received and repatriated immediately within a period not exceeding 60 days from the day of shipment of goods,” Eric Hammond said.

He added that the BoG is currently going through a list of exporters who don’t comply, and they will soon be arraigned before court, since it is a criminal offence not to repatriate export proceeds.

Mr Hammond also cautioned exporters against using the black forex market, saying it is illegal, and that the country needs foreign exchange to develop.

“When exporters need foreign currency for their transactions, the same black market will sell it to them at a very expensive rate, to make up for the difference when they sold it,” he added.

He also warned importers who use the transit system as a smoke screen in order to avoid the payment of import duties that, “they will soon be arrested.”

He noted that the Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System (PAARS), a system introduced by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to process import documents, will help all commercial banks check anomalies in import and export.

He advised exporters to help freight forwarders fill in all forms and not leave every little detail to the freight forwarders since they can inaccurately fill the forms.

The amount left over is sometimes left in the bank account over a period of time, sometimes over a year.

A recent report published by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) shows Commercial banks in Ghana pay between 3.4% to 16.40% as interest on deposits (savings); an average of 11.20% by all the banks. Click here for full Bank of Ghana Report on the rates.

There are bank customers who are unaware or careless about these rates and are even happy by just seeing their monies remain in their accounts. However, there are others who complain of receiving minimal interest on their savings while others complain of not receiving at all.

The banks are then happier keeping customers’ savings with them. In fact, if it tends to span over a long period, banks go the extra mile by offering customers exceptional services such as assigning personal relationship managers.

The BOG report is to guide customers in making decisions regarding their savings/deposits/leftovers and what is being earned on them.

Let’s delve into some reasons people open bank accounts:

For Accessibility: To be able to make regular withdrawals during business hours. This is why Banks offer 24/7 ATM service and others for this purpose.

For Emergency Purposes: Money is put aside to cover emergencies. For instance, an unexpected car repair, friends and family requests, loss of job, are supposed to be catered for by emergency funds

Savings for Retirement: The earlier this begins the less the requirement in future. In the period in life when one cannot engage in full time employment, it is necessary that a retirement fund works for you.

Saving to make a down payment for House, Car: People save to use as down payment for such facilities. This also provides an avenue for accessing loans. With banks, a better rate could be negotiated if the customer is able to provide a percentage of the cost of the product.

Savings to have fun: Another reason to save is to afford the luxury of a vacation.

Save for Sinking Funds: Sinking funds are set aside for improvements on car, house and other possessions. This fund can free the emergency fund.

To earn interest: the opportunity to earn an interest of “3.4%” is always better than to keeping the money under your pillow.

Savings for education: Additionally, people save for future education. Masters and doctorates can be achieved by taking the first steps of savings. Children’s education is also a factor to save money.

From the reasons above, it can be noted that apart from savings for accessibility, funds for the other reasons are likely to be kept for up to a year or more. In this case, the left overs.

It is necessary to fish out good returns in order not to lose money, especially to inflation, therefore, it is better to invest the money.

Again, according to Investopedia an investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or will appreciate in the future. In an economic sense, an investment is the purchase of goods that are not consumed today but are used in the future to create wealth. In finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will provide income in the future or will be sold at a higher price for a profit.

From the rates published by the BOG, the rates quoted are mostly lower than inflation rate. Pointing to loss of purchasing power in real terms.

None of the rates also match up with rates offered by investment firms in the country, making it risky to save money over a long period in a bank account.

Treasury bills for example have over the period offered savers/investors cushion on inflation.

Real return over the years on the 91-day Treasury Bills, though not very impressive, has provided the necessary cushion to protect the purchasing power of investors.

From the graph above, since 2006 to 2016, it is realized that though real return is quite slim, it’s still better than negative.

The Ghana Stock Market is also an avenue that gives appreciable returns.

Unilever Ghana Ltd, Enterprise Group Ltd, Ecobank Ghana Ltd, Fan Milk Ltd, Benso Oil Plantation Ltd, GOIL and GCB Bank are a few selections of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange that have returned appreciably to investors. An average of 13.65% inflation rate is far below the average return of the seven stocks of 258%, when funds were kept from 2007 to 2016.

Bank savings accounts are not investment accounts. Opening bank accounts should not be to prime motive; how much we earn on our monies should also be of concern to us.