EOCO Deny Arrest of Capital Bank CEO

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has denied claims of the arrest of Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, the former Chief Executive Director of the defunct Capital Bank.

This follows reports in sections of the media yesterday that Rev. Odonkor had been detained by the anti-graft body over the collapse of Capital Bank.

According to the report, Rev. Odonkor was detained after he was invited by the financial crime investigation outfit.

Rev. Odonkor and two other directors of the bank, Pastor Mensa Otabil, Founder of the International Central Gospel Church, (ICGC) and William Ato Essien have all reportedly been invited to answer questions over their alleged roles in the bank’s collapse.

Denials

But K. K Amoah, the Executive Director of EOCO in a telephone interview with THE PUBLISHER rubbished the media reports stressing that the story is false.

He said invitation is different from arrest adding that over ten Directors invited for various issues had all been discharged.

“Invitation is different from arrest, all those who came here, more than 10, they are all gone, they are all gone, anybody who cares to know should come to my office to find out.”

The Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and private legal practitioner said further argued: “nobody (has been arrested), all those from the various banks who came today, nobody has been arrested…it’s as simple as that”.

Although he would not say whether or not anybody has been specifically invited in connection with the collapse of the bank, the EOCO Executive Director described the reports as bogus.

In August last years, Capital Bank and UT Bank collapsed because of their inability to turn around their negative capital adequacy position and they were subsequently taken over by GCB Bank.

The liabilities of the two banks, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG), overwhelmed their assets, leaving the Central Bank with no option but to undertake a purchase and assumption transaction, as the least costly method of dealing with a collapse.

Probe

At the end of March 2018, the former Directors of Capital Bank and UT Bank were invited by EOCO to answer for their roles in the collapse of the banks.

This followed the findings of an investigative report on the collapse submitted to the BoG.

Prior to the summons by EOCO, the Second-Deputy Governor of the BoG, Elsie Awadzie, was quoted as having said that the activities of the top officials of the two banks were under scrutiny.

The BoG said it would sanction shareholders, directors, and key management personnel who are found to be culpable, and whose activities led to the collapse of both banks.

By: Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson/ thePublisher