A Business Development Officer of the defunct Beige Group, Horatius Bekoe, has told the High Court in Accra that the Receiver of the Beige Bank is “aware of the existence of lots” of the bank’s projects.

According to him, following the takeover of the bank, he took officials of the Receiver rounds to some of the existing projects, especially in the Bono region having played an instrumental role in the initial processes.

Mr Horatius Bekoe made this known to the High Court in Accra while testifying as the third Defense Witness for Michael Nyinaku, the founder of the defunct Beige Bank who has been accused of siphoning customer’s funds.

Mr. Nyinaku, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the defunct bank, has been accused of allegedly siphoning customers funds and has been charged with stealing GH¢2.1 billion of depositors’ money from the bank.

He has pleaded not guilty to 43 charges including stealing, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering, and has been granted bail.

While being led by Lawyer Thaddeus Sory to give his Evidence-in-Chief before the Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, the Defense Witness said the Receiver is aware of lots of existing projects.

“I am aware that there were a lot of offices under construction for the bank at the time of the receivership," he said.

“I can confirm that I conducted an official of the receiver [named Joshua] to locations at which some of those projects were located," he added.

“It’s therefore an incontrovertible fact that the receiver is aware of the existence of these projects,” the 3rd Defense Witness told the Court.

According to the Witness who had worked for the Bank from 2010 until 2018, as part of preparations towards the transition of Beige Capital Savings and Loans (BCSL) into universal banking, “the bank undertook a lot of branch expansion projects all over the country.”

“I am also aware that Babbel Ltd [BBL], a subsidiary of TBG (The Beige Group) was the main entity that built offices for the bank,” the Witness told the Court.

He said the BBL had to look for suitable locations in the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, and part of Ashanti and the surrounding Northern regions where the bank would site its offices.

“Since I am a native of Seikwa in the Bono region and familiar with that geographical location and its surrounding regions, the CEO directed that I assist BBL in scouting for locations that would be most suitable for the bank in that region,” he told the Court.

It was his testimony that “I was instrumental in the choices of location the bank made such as Abessim, New Dormaa station, Nana Bosoma Market, Fiapre – all in Sunyani, and then Berekum, Dormaa Ahenkro, Nkoranza, Kintampo, Walewale, Ahenema Kokoben, Jirapa, etc.”

Mr Bekoe also recounted “that on one such occasion after BBL made the choice of the location and signed the lease with the original owner of the property which is CHAMBEES LTD, I delivered the Cheque which was the consideration for the property to this property owner thus the Managing Director of CHAMBEES LTD.”

“This location was the Nana Bosoma New Market at Sunyani,” he told the Court, adding that, “that was where my role ended.”

“Since then, BBL and their teams started work on these branches, as far as I knew,” he added.

Events after the Receivership of TBB

Detailing to the Court what happened after the bank had gone into receivership, he said, “Sometime in early 2019, following the receivership of the bank, I was contacted by the accused to assist officials of BBL facilitate officials of the receiver’s office in verifying all the projects which were under construction for the bank in the entire country."

According to him, he was asked to assist BBL with this exercise because the entire verification exercise was expected to be completed within a week and thus “we had to split ourselves into teams which would be assigned to different geographical locations.”


Mr Bekoe said, “That way the exercise would happen simultaneously and be completed within the timeline set for it.”

“My schedule was to take them to see the projects in the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and parts of the Northern regions because those were locations I was familiar with.

“Prior to us undertaking this verification exercise, I recall dealing with an officer named Julius Ayivor who gave me the contact numbers of 2 officers from his office who would be doing the field visit exercise with me."

“Their details were Elikem Nyatefe whose contact number as given to me then was 0231877273."

“The second official was named Joshua and his contact number as given to me then was 0204770143.

“In the end Elikem could not make the trip so I did it with only Joshua.

“I recall that at each location we visited, Joshua took pictures and the GPS address of the property,” he told the Court.

Confirmation

As a confirmation of the statement I have just made above, I have attached to my present witness statement, images of the following projects and the state in which they were at the time we did the verification visit.

They are Nana Bosoma Market at Sunyani, Kintampo, Walewale, Ahenema Kokoben and Jirapa. They have been marked as Exhibits HB 1, HB 1A, HB 1B, HB 1C and HB 1D respectively.

The vehicle in the image marked XX is the vehicle we used on one of our trips.

Time with the Special Investigation team

It was the case of the 3rd Defense Witness that, later in 2019, “I received a call from the Special Investigations Team [SIT] requiring that I make a statement concerning my involvement in the acquisition of the property at Nana Bosoma Market at Sunyani by BBL.”

According to him, the SIT was a body within the police service that had been constituted to investigate the banking crisis.

“They interviewed me concerning a payment voucher which had my name on it as the recipient.

“I informed them that I was familiar with this voucher,” the Witness stated.

“I also informed them that my name appeared on the voucher simply because the check was handed over to me therefore I had to sign as recipient as the process requires.

Payment voucher

However, the cheque was not written in my name or meant for me,” Mr Bekoe explained to the Court.

“That cheque was meant for a landlord from whom BBL rented a property which was being refurbished for use by the bank.

“It was just handed over to me so I would deliver it to the intended payee,” he said.

“The cheque, subject matter for which I was interviewed and questioned by the SIT is the same check I delivered to one of the landlords myself as indicated in paragraph 12 above of my present witness statement,” adding that, “that was the end of my encounter with the SIT.”

The Witness has since been cross examined by the Prosecution as the case has been adjourned to May 8, 2024, for 4th Defense Witness to be called.

Below is the Cross-examination of the Witness by the Prosecution;

Q: You stated in your witness statement that you were transferred from the Beige Bank in 2015 to the office of the accused person at the Beige Group, is that right?

A; That is right it was Beige Capital Savings and Loans at the time.

Q: Now the Beige group had accounts with other banks not just the Beige Bank?

A: I was not in the finance department so I would not know where the Beige Group had their account.

Q: But you have stated in your witness statement that the Beige Group had an account with the Beige Bank?

A: I have not stated that in my witness statement. What I have stated is that at the time of receivership bank accounts of the Beige Group were frozen and that statement is not referring to the bank account with the Beige Bank. I do not know which banks the Beige Group has its bank account. But we were told that the bank accounts of the group were frozen which made it difficult for the group to operate and therefore we had to go home.

Q: You do not know as a fact which accounts were even frozen?

A: Yes my lady.

Q: I am putting it to you that the Beige Group closed down because its life wire the Beige Bank had been taken over by BOG not because the accounts were frozen?

A: We were operating at the Beige Group by management and per the announcement by the management is what I have written in my witness statement that the accounts of the group which I was working for and was being paid had been frozen and therefore the group could not function and we were to go home. This is what I know.

Q: I am putting it to you that the Beige Group had accounts with other financial institutions aside the Beige Bank which were not frozen?

A: Like I said I do not know the other banks or even the banks that the group office held accounts with so I cannot confirm that.

Q: In paragraph 12, the lease of the property belonging to Chambee Limited was between Babbell and Chambee?

A: Yes my lady.

Q: The cheque that you presented in respect of the lease was issued by the Beige Bank?

A: I do not remember. I remember a cheque was drawn. I received the cheque and subsequently presented it to Chambee but I do not remember which bank’s cheque or from which institution.

Q: I am putting it to you that the cheque was issued by the Beige Bank with your name on the voucher as the recipient of the cheque?

A: as I have already indicated I do not remember.

Q: Apart from the cheque you paid to Chambee Limited in respect of the property lease to Babbel, you did not receive any official receipts or VAT invoices in respect of this property.

A: As a person No.

Q: I am putting it to you that there are no receipts or invoices on record in respect of this huge payment you made to Chambee Limited on behalf of the bank?

A: I have stated my role in that exercise. I would not know. The explanation is that I was not working for Babbel, I was asked by the CEO to assist because of my familiarity with the area. So I was not part of their normal daily operations. So when the cheque was ready, I was asked to pick up the cheque for the landlord and that was how I signed the voucher having received the cheque and that ended my role.

Q: As somebody who have worked with the bank before your transfer, you did not see the need to obtain a receipt in respect of this huge amount you had paid to Chambee Limited?

A: My instruction from Babbel Limited was to give the cheque to Chambee which I did.

Q: And the record shows that you were not a worker at Babbel?

A: Exactly so.

Q: Then paragraph 16 of your witness statement, apart from the photographs you have attached of the supposed properties acquired by Babbel, you do not have a single receipt, invoice or contract in respect of these branches attached to your statement?

A: No my lady but I would like to explain my role in connection to Babbel again. With my little knowledge in banking when it comes to branch offices, the CEO trusted me that I would be able to identify suitable locations for establishment of branches. So, my role was to assist Babbel in identifying suitable locations and suitable buildings. After that Babbel takes over and does the operational work with the landlords and then starts their refurbishment or construction. So whatever operational work that Babbel was doing, I was not involved.

Q: You were not interested in the contracts between Babbel and various property owners in looking for a suitable location.

A: That was not my assigned duty.

Q: I am putting it to you that the photographs attached to your witness statement do not mean anything at all.