Aggrieved customers of defunct Gold Coast fund Management Company have accused government of seeking to use them as ransom in order to secure a liquidation order.

The aggrieved customers on Tuesday spent the night at the finance ministry as part of a 48 hour picket demanding the release of their locked up funds.

Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) however explaining the delay in a statement, attributed the hold-up to an ongoing legal tussle on the liquidation of the collapsed fund management company.

But speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr, convener of the aggrieved group, Charles Nyame has rubbished SEC’s justification.

“This conditions are not backed by any law. Why does the government want to use us the customers as ransom to secure a liquidation order rather than going through the full course of the law?” he quizzed.

“Government had two options to pay the customers, and the options were either government would use a liquidation route or a bailout route. SEC stated in that a statement that they convinced and advised government to use a bailout package to pay the customers for immediate relief of the hardship they are going through with the reason that per the experience they have, some liquidation cases spanned over 2 decades”, he further alleges.

The aggrieved customers therefore insist parliament’s approval of an 8.6 billion cedis bailout was not tied to the success or otherwise of the litigation.

“That is the reason government budgeted some amount and sought approval from parliament which has been given. Why then should we use a route that can take 20 years as a condition?” Charles Nyame concluded.