Defence lawyers in the case in which the founder of defunct Beige Bank is standing trial have told the High Court in Accra that former Managing Director (MD) of the First Africa Savings and Loans (FASL) and a leading member of AGLOW Ghana, Mrs Gifty Afenyi Dadzie concealed information from police investigators to have their client implicated.
According to the defence lawyers led by Thaddeus Sory, Mrs Afenyi Dadzie who was then MD of FASL did not make full disclosure of information on the status of the sale of FASL to The BEIGE Group when she met the investigators during investigation.
Mr Sory said Mrs Dadzie “was definitely untruthful” to the Commercial Crime Unit (CCU) and Special Investigation Team (SIT) during the investigation processes.
“I am further putting it to you that linking Exhibits 20, 23 and 25, Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie was definitely not truthful to you and your investigation team when she represented herself and Kwabena Bonsu as representing the management team of FASL to the exclusion of the Beige Group officials,” Mr Sory put to ASP Abednego Atsah, the Fifth Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial.
The Witness in his response said, “We asked her to volunteer statements out of her own volition which she did.”
The Beige Bank was said to have entered agreement with FASL to acquired 90% of the shares of FASL as per share purchase agreement signed between the beige group Ltd and first Africa group.
Following this, Beige made a payment of GHS 7m being the cedi quivalent of USD 1.6m as part payment of the purchase consideration which then was USD2.5m.
This USD1.6m was paid directly to First Africa Group, the outgoing and now minority shareholders.
Subsequently The BEIGE Group made a further investment of an amount of GHS9m directly into FASL meant to increase the stated capital and boost the working capital of FASL since BEIGE had now become the majority shareholders and controllers of FASL.
It turns out that all this while, Gifty Affenyi Dadzie and Kwesi Tetteh Dadzie of First Africa Group had represented to BEIGE that they had secured all relevant approvals from the Bank of Ghana when in fact they hadn’t. This representation had expressly been stated in the sale and purchase agreement signed by both parties.
Mr Sory while while subjecting ASP Abednego Atsah, the investigator in the matter to further Cross-Examination before the Financial and Economic Division of the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, said Mrs Afenyi Dadzie always knew that those Beige Group officials who worked with FASL had access to the letterheads of FASL and did not have to forge them.
ASP Abednego Atsah, the Fifth Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial, said Mrs. Afenyi Dadzie did not mention that.
The Investigator, ASP Abednego Atsah, the Fifth Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial had his Witness Statement given on December 8, 2022, adopted by the Court as his Evidence-in-Chief including various exhibits on July 7.
His evidence to the Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge is to corroborate the Prosecution’s charges that have been leveled against Mr Michael Nyineku.
Mr Michael 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.
Justice Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, sitting as an additional High Court judge has adjourned the case to July 21, 2023.
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