Appeals Court, Not Gov’t Restored GN Bank Licence – Lawyer Fires Back

The suggestion that the administration of President John Mahama has been responsible for the restoration of the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans due to its pledge while in opposition has been rejected by the lawyer for businessman Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who insists that the development was the result of a judicial decision by the Court of Appeal.

Speaking during Saturday morning’s edition of Newsfile, hosted by Samson Lardy Anyenini, legal counsel Cletus Alengah sought to set the record straight on the controversy surrounding the bank’s regulatory battle.

According to Cletus Alengah, the ruling was delivered independently by the courts after years of litigation and should not be confused with political promises made ahead of the 2024 general election.

He explained, “When BoG was revoking the licence of GN Bank Savings and Loans, it did so by letter, so if any government wanted to restore it as promised, they would have done the same. They wouldn’t have waited for the court to give its decision. Upon assumption of office, the government could have issued a letter and restored GN Bank to full operation. Now, that is not what happened.

“We have been in court since 2019, gone through all the processes until the court finally gave its judgment on Thursday, saying that the decision taken by the Bank of Ghana was wrong. So I don’t think we can, by any stretch of imagination, link it to any promise made by any person prior to the elections or thereafter. This is purely a legally backed judgment, which has ended where we are.”

Cletus Alengah continued, “I won’t even call it a coincidence; the government has not done anything to restore the licence. The NDC in opposition promised, but that is not what has been done. What has rather happened is that the court has ordered the BoG to restore the licence. That’s a different thing. It’s two different things altogether. BoG on their own would have restored the licence if they wanted to. BoG, as at the last hearing on Thursday, still challenged and defended its decision to revoke the licence of GN Bank. The court has ordered it, not any government intervention.”

Cletus Alengah’s explanation follows a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal’s decision to restore the licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited on the grounds that the decision to revoke the licence was unfair and unreasonable.

By the judgment, both the decision to revoke the licence and the High Court decision to uphold the same have been quashed.

Background

On January 4, 2019, GN Bank Limited was reclassified as a savings and loans company and consequently renamed GN Savings and Loans Company Limited.

Seven months later, on August 16, 2019, the BoG, then under the leadership of Dr Ernest Addison, revoked the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited and appointed Eric Nana Nipah as Receiver as part of the banking sector clean-up exercise.

The same month, Groupe Nduom, owners of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited, led by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, challenged the revocation of the licence in the High Court in Accra.

On January 24, 2024, Justice Addo upheld the revocation of the licence.

It is this judgment of the High Court that the owners of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited, led by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, challenged at the Court of Appeal and which has now been quashed.