General News of Thursday, 8 November 2018

Source: mynewsgh.com

Compel Ibrahim Mahama to ‘vomit’ GHS350m UT loan - Receivers pray to Court

Ibrahim Mahama Ibrahim Mahama

Months after MyNewsGh.com reported on how Mr Ibrahim Mahama’s companies owed UT Bank outstanding loan repayment balance of $35.7 million and GH¢189.1 million as of the time the bank’s licence was revoked in 2017, court action has been initiated by the receiver to recover the money.

The licence of the UT Bank was revoked on August 1, 2017 as at which time Mr Ibrahim Mahama owed the bank in excess of 350million Ghana cedis.

The companies involved are Dzata Cement Limited, $35.7 million; MBG Limited, GH¢83.1 million; Holman Brothers Limited, GH¢86.4 million, and Engineers and Planners, GH¢19.6 million.

The court document said Mr Mahama was the Executive Chairman/Director of the companies, which were all registered in Ghana.

The statement of claim also averred that Mr Mahama was the majority shareholder of all the four companies.

The receivers aver that there have been several meetings between Mr Mahama and representatives of the four other defendants in a bid to recover the outstanding loan amounts. All promises by the defendants to redeem the outstanding loans had not been fulfilled, they added.

“The plaintiffs say that the defendants will not pay the outstanding loans unless compelled to do so by the fit of the honourable High Court,” the statement of claim added and, accordingly, prayed the court to grant the reliefs being sought against the defendants.

It said then UT Bank, over a period of several years, commencing from about 2012, granted the loan amounts to the defendants.

A writ of summons issued by one Mr Joe Aboagye Debrah, an Accra-based legal practitioner, acting on behalf of UT Banks’s receivers is praying the court to order the defendants to repay the outstanding loan amounts with interest.

The relief is specifically praying the court to order the first defendant to pay interest on the loan amounts with effect from November 30, 2016 to date of final payment.

The plaintiffs are further praying the court to direct the second, third and fourth defendants to repay the amounts from June 30, 2017; October 31, 2017 and April 11, 2017, respectively, till the date of final payment.

They are also seeking an order against Mr Mahama for the recovery of all outstanding amounts owed by his companies in pursuance of the personal guarantees he gave for the grant of the loan facilities.

Damages for the breach of contract, costs and any other relief the court might deem fit are also being sought by the receivers on behalf of the defunct bank. According to the statement of claim accompanying the writ of summons, the defendants were at all material times customers of the then UT Bank.