Kpebu Calls for Further Investigations into Collapsed Banks
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has expressed his belief that the collapse of banks during the financial sector reforms carried out by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) could have been more thoroughly investigated.
He suggested that the Attorney-General (A-G) should delegate some of its powers to independent lawyers not affiliated with any political party to conduct further investigations.
Speaking on the TV3 show Key Points, Mr. Kpebu referred to the imprisonment of William Ato Essien, the CEO of the defunct Capital Bank, and said, “Let us begin to build the institutions once we accept that the Attorney-General can delegate the power.” He cited the example of the Special Prosecutor’s powers and suggested that similar delegation of authority could be beneficial for in-depth investigations.
Deputy Attorney-General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah also commented on the matter, stating that while Ato Essien reached an agreement to refund GHC90 million to the state, he managed to repay only GHC37 million, leading to his custodial sentence. Tuah-Yeboah emphasized the significance of this recovery, stating that it was “better than none.” He noted that the state had never previously retrieved such a substantial sum from individuals in similar cases. He expressed hope that Ato Essien would eventually pay the remainder and pointed out that the recovered amount was a positive outcome for the state.
Mr. Tuah-Yeboah further mentioned that other cases related to the financial sector reforms were ongoing, with institutions like Beige Bank and UT Bank currently in court. He explained that the state was actively pursuing these cases, either through money recovery or, if necessary, through legal proceedings. The Deputy Attorney-General stated that the state’s focus was on ensuring justice was served and that any funds owed to the public purse were recovered.
