Alfred Agbesi Woyome
The Supreme
Court has ordered the state to go ahead and sell four properties of beleaguered
businessman and National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome,
to defray the GH¢51.2 million he fraudulently received as judgment debt.
This was after
the court found that claims by defunct UT Bank that the properties belonged to
them was “a sham” and a “collusion to hide the properties.”
They include
three residential properties – two at the plush Trassaco Valley in Accra and
one at Kpehe in Accra Newtown, as well as a quarry at Mamfe in the Eastern
Region.
The properties
according to Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, are estimated to
cost over GH¢20 million.
Possible Prosecution
After the
proceeding, Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, said the judgment was
clear on the fact “Woyome attempted to collude with a bank to prevent the
execution of the government against him.”
“To me, it’s an
act that the state can take him on in terms of criminal prosecution and what
have you. Clearly, this is something that I will consider prosecuting him for,”
Mr. Dame said.
Identified Properties
The state in its
efforts to recover the GH¢51.2 million the
NDC financier fraudulently received as judgment debt, identified five
properties belonging to Mr. Woyome each worth about $1.5 million.
However, moves
by the state to confiscate the properties were truncated by claims by the defunct
UT Bank that it acquired the properties from Mr. Woyome on April 5, 2013 and
May 13, 2014, respectively.
The receiver of
the bank, Eric Nana Nipa, in his witness statement to the Supreme Court, had
said that the property at Accra Newtown was used by the businessman as
collateral to secure a loan in excess of GH¢9 million from the bank.
He claimed that
Mr. Woyome’s company is yet to repay the money, thereby making it difficult for
the bank to pay its depositors and other creditors.
In respective of
the quarry, Anator Holdings Company Limited had claimed that Woyome, who is the
Executive Chairman of the firm, had released some landed properties of the
quarry to the company to be used as collateral for a loan from UT Bank hence it
cannot be confiscated by the state.
They also
claimed that Woyome had transferred all shares in the company to Anator
Holdings Limited.
AG’s Input
However, the
state represented by Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Dame, accused Mr. Woyome and
the bank of colluding to frustrate the state in its efforts to retrieve the
money wrongly paid to the businessman.
According to the
state, the residential properties and others identified belong to Mr. Woyome
and the bank has no document to prove that it acquired the properties and
others were used as collateral for loans.
Ruling
The Supreme Court
presided over by a sole judge, Justice Alfred A. Benin, found out that the property was not sold to
UT Bank and held that the claim was a sham and a clear case of collusion to
hide the properties.
In respect of
the quarry and its landed properties, the court found there was no evidence to
show that Woyome had indeed transferred all his shares in the company.
It was the view
of Justice Benin that the company is wholly owned by Mr. Woyome hence falls
under the liable properties considered for confiscation.
He subsequently
ordered the state to sell the three residential properties as well as the
quarry.
The court
awarded a total cost of GH¢120,000 – GH¢60,000 each against UT Bank and Anator
Holdings in favour of the state.
Quick Auction
Speaking to
reporters after the court’s ruling, the Deputy Attorney General stated that the
state would by next week take steps to auction the properties to retrieve the
money for the state.
Mr. Dame said
the ruling affirms accountability and the rule of law “that indeed you cannot
deprive the state of funds and then resort to all manner of tactics just to
avoid the satisfaction of judgment debt given against you.”
Mr. Woyome, in
2010, was charged with two counts of causing financial loss to the state and
defrauding by false pretences.
He was, however, discharged by an Accra High Court in 2015 by the disgraced Justice John Ajet-Naam, who was caught in the Anas Aremeyaw Anas bribery and corruption scandal that rocked the Judiciary.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
