Bank sector crisis: government to begin prosecuting culprits – Godfred Dame reveals
Attorney General, Godfred Dame speaking at Cambridge over the weekend stated that after “painstaking investigations, dockets of the financial crime are almost ready for the prosecution to commence in earnest”.
Addressing the financial sector issues at Cambridge University, Mr. Dame said “Between August 2017 and January 2020, Ghana was hit by a severe banking crisis that affected several institutions, and several indigenous banks, as a result of which the central bank ordered a take-over of some of the banks by the Ghana Commercial Bank.
“The Central bank cited the insolvency of the banks as a significant reason for revoking their license.”
He added a critical analysis of of the Ghanaian Banking Crisis was a result of poor corporate governance and regulatory lapses.
“Five indigenous banks were consolidated to form the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited. A deeper examination of the banking crisis showed poor corporate governance, non-performing loans, breach of directors’ obligations, credit risks, and regulatory lapses were responsible for the vulnerabilities the banks were exposed to,” he explained.
Mr. Dame sympathized with his government, saying it was the most severe economic crisis to affect Ghana since independence.
“Internal auditors who were required to superintend proper accounting practices were complacent and covered up Executive Directors. The recent banking crisis held ramifications for the entire economy. It was the most severe economic crisis to affect Ghana since independence,” he said.
He concluded by reiterating that his Office is “prosecuting other cases including stealing, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering”.
