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The founder and majority shareholder of Heritage Bank Limited (escrow), Mr. Seidu Agongo, broke the silence on the collapse of the bank, describing the decision of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to revoke the license as a "indecent haste" that has irreparable damage to himself and other stakeholders.
In a press release issued Monday afternoon, business and philanthropist Mr. Agongo said the central bank 's decision was supposed to prejudge the outcome of the criminal proceedings against him before the court. the High Court.
This is his first comment on the collapse of the bank, more than two weeks after the BoG revoked the bank's license, citing its suspicious capital and the fact that Mr. Agongo was not able to own a bank , among others.
In the statement available to Graphic Online, Mr. Agongo stated that he had not engaged in any sneaky transactions when creating the HBL.
"I have been in business since 2001 and since then I have founded about fifteen (15) entities in areas such as real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, media, commodities, pharmaceuticals and financial services currently employing at least 3,500 GHANAIANS!
"I want to emphatically emphasize that by establishing HBL, I did not behave in a sneaky way and that in fact, as the Central Bank itself has repeatedly testified, HBL was a very well-governed Ghanaian bank that remained solvent until the end, "he said.
On BoG's position that he was not fit and able to be a shareholder of a bank, Mr. Agongo said: "By supposedly taking this decision, the Central Bank did not manifestly that little regard for the respected principle that a person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. guilty by a competent court.
"The fact that my case is pending before the High Court is public information, but my guilt or my innocence remains to be determined by the Honorable Court," the statement said.
"The decision that I am not a fit and fit person to be a significant shareholder of HBL because the Central Bank suspects that the funds came from illegal or suspicious contracts with COCOBOD is not solely intended to prejudge the outcome of the criminal proceedings. but also a violation of the principle of presumption of innocence to which every individual is entitled.
"Since when does suspicion replace credible evidence?", He asked in his statement.
He stated that "the decision of the Central Bank was supposed to be based on the badumption that the sources of capital of HBL were" suspicious "because the contracts from which they originated were the subject of a proceeding. criminal proceedings in progress. Will the Central Bank restore HBL's banking license? if I had to be paid the current charges?
"The total irrationality of the Central Bank's action in revoking the license of HBL on the basis of ongoing criminal proceedings and the fact that the harm caused to HBL and its stakeholders could to be finally irreparable are palpable. "
"The unanswered question is this. why indecent haste? Why, for example, was the suspension of voting rights of my HBL shares pending the decision of the judicial proceeding not recommended to the Bank of Ghana, if it had acted otherwise only in bad faith? "
Mr. Agongo stated that he had never been informed by the BoG that I had been subjected to a personality test by the Central Bank and that this never happened to me. asked questions or clarified, contrary to current impressions. created BoG.
"In fact, I do not know when this investigation or badessment of the appropriate and appropriate person began and when it ended. We had not heard it yet, but the Bank of Ghana had sealed my fate in this hostile way, "he said.
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