Court Suspends Decision on Ownership of Woyome Properties

General News of Monday, January 21, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-01-21

The Supreme Court has suspended its judgment on the legitimate property of certain properties reserved for sale by the state, believed to belong to the businessman Alfred Woyome.

The decision was suspended by Judge Alfred Benin following an application for review filed by Alfred Woyome with a view to obtaining the quashing of a decision rendered by a single judge on 3 December 2018.

There has been a dispute between the recipients of the UT disappeared bank and the state to which the real estate belong.

While the recipients of the missing bank claim ownership of the properties due to a loan default of Mr. Woyome, the state says that the bank's position can not be true. They further accused the addressees of collaborating with Mr Woyome to conceal some of his properties.

The properties in question include a quarry in the Volta region and residential facilities in Trasacco and Tesano in Accra.

The proposed sale of the properties by the State is expected to reimburse part of the 51 million GHc debt that Mr Woyome owed him.

The case has been adjourned indefinitely.

Context

On July 29, 2014, the Supreme Court ordered Woyome to repay 51.2 million GHACs to the state because he had obtained the money from unconstitutional and invalid contracts entered into between the government and the state. State and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of Nations Cup.

Woyome has appealed to the International Court of Arbitration to challenge the court's decision after having reneged on his promise to the Supreme Court to pay the money by the end of December 2015.

On March 1, 2016, Woyome asked the court to give him three years to pay back the money, but the court refused to grant him his wish.

In its 2014 reconsideration decision, the court found that the contracts on which Woyome had made and received the claim violated Article 181 (5) of Ghana's 1992 Constitution, which requires these contracts to be filed. before and approved by Parliament.