William Ato Essien, the founder of the now-defunct Capital Bank, Fitzgerald Odonkor, the bank’s managing director, and Tettey Nettey, the managing director of MC Management Services, a business rumored to be owned by Essien, would all have their futures decided when the court rendered its decision later this morning.
The three have all entered not guilty pleas to a total of 23 theft, aiding theft, conspiracy to steal, and money laundering counts.
The three accused individuals—Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, Tettey Nettey, and Mr. William Ato Essien—have all presented their defenses against the allegations.
The trial began on October 15, 2019, and Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting with added responsibilities as a High Court judge, presided over it. It took two years and five months to complete.
Murtala Inusah, the Legal Affairs Correspondent for EIB Network, stated that Justice Eric Kyei Baffour would give his decision at 11:00 am on this day, December 1, 2022.
Fitzgerald Odonkor, the former managing director of the bank, and Tettey Nettey, the managing director of MC Management Services, are also on trial with Ato Essien. It is alleged that Essien is the owner of MC Management Services.
To a total of 23 charges of stealing, aiding stealing, conspiring to steal, and money laundering, the defendants have entered not guilty pleas. They have a bond.
They are alleged to have committed a number of illicit activities that caused the BoG’s GH620 million liquidity support for Capital Bank between June 2015 and November 2016 to be lost.
Essien, Nettey, and Odonkor were each granted bail in the amount of GH $200 million with two sureties who had to be of good character and substance in response to a bail application made by their individual attorneys.
Justice Kyei-Baffour further instructed them to leave their passports in the court registry as one of the bail requirements.
The three accused people, with the exception of the first accused, Ato Essien, called a witness while the state prosecutors under the direction of Mrs. Marina Appiah-Opare, a Chief State Attorney (prosecution), summoned 17 witnesses in the case.
One of the first financial institutions to fail after the Bank of Ghana (BoG) began its extensive financial institution clean-up in 2017 was The Capital Bank (Indegenous).
On August 14, 2017, the BoG revoked UT Bank’s and its licenses after declaring them insolvent, allowing the state-owned GCB Bank to purchase the two banks in order to safeguard depositor cash and help them stay afloat.
When the central bank liquidated five additional local banks and combined them into one organization named as Consolidated Bank, Ghana in August 2018, it intensified the cyclone that had already hit the banking industry as a result of the collapse of the two institutions.
The four individuals were accused by the prosecution, which was overseen by the former Attorney General (A-G), Ms. Gloria Afua Akuffo, of engaging in a number of illegal activities that resulted in the loss of the GH620 million liquidity support provided to Capital Bank by the BoG between June 2015 and November 2016.
In the case of the A-G, Essien shifted the financial support to a few businesses that he either controlled or had an interest in with Odonkor’s help.
According to her, GH130 million of the liquidity support was sent to MC Management Services, which then presented the BoG with the money as the beginning capital to establish Sovereign Bank, another bank in which Essien had a stake.
The A-G further claimed that Essien took GHc27.5 million of the liquidity support between June and October 2015 with the help of Odonkor by transporting it in jute bags.
She testified before the court that “the money was allegedly utilized as payment for business advertising.”
The AG further charged Essien with providing his friends with a loan to be utilized to purchase Capital Bank stock in order to help them with their liquidity needs.
Madam Kate Quartey-Papafio was initially accused of being responsible for (Essien, Nettey, and Ordonkor). According to the A-G, Essien transferred GH70 million of the 620 million Ghana cedi liquidity support into her Cal Bank bank account as part of the scheme to further disperse the funds.
Additionally, the prosecution charged Ms. Quartey-Papafio with attempting to remove the funds in 2017 despite being aware that Capital Bank had failed and was in receivership.
However, the Capital Bank receivers stopped the withdrawal, as claimed by the A-G.
She was released from custody by the court when it ruled that there was no case to answer after the prosecution rested its case after calling 16 witnesses.
Justice Kyei Baffour ruled on July 8, 2021, that the prosecution had failed to show any evidence against Ms. Quartey that would have allowed her to begin her defense.
He determined that there was no proof that the businesswoman planned to steal money from Capital Bank or took any steps in that direction.
The businesswoman simply served as a trustee for another individual who wished to buy shares from the bank, the judge claims, and she was unaware that the funds were a part of the liquidity support.
The court further determined that the aforementioned funds (GH70 million) were still in the Consolidated Bank’s possession and had not been misappropriated or stolen by the entrepreneur.
“A prima facie case against her has not been proven. She behaved childishly throughout the transaction. According to the court, the law punishes those who have evil intentions and not fools.