Bank of Ghana wins US$478 million arbitration case against Sibton Switch

• Ghana has saved $478 million from a bad deal

• Sibton Switch Limited is to pay that amount to the Bank of Ghana after it lost a case at the London International Court of Arbitration

• Dr. Ernest Addison says he is excited about this

Sibton Switch Limited is to pay $478 million to the Bank of Ghana after the latter won an international arbitration against the former.

In 2017, Sibton Switch took the Bank of Ghana to the London International Court of Arbitration (LCIA) over the termination of the Master Agreement for the Ghana Retail Payment Systems Infrastructure by the bank, reports citinewsroom.com.

Also, Sibton Switch is to make a substantial payment to the Bank in respect of its legal fees and costs of the arbitration, the court ruled.

The Sibton Switch Limited was awarded a GH¢4.6 billion contract to enhance interoperability in mobile money transactions across telecom networks by the Bank of Ghana.

A public uproar however got the contract abrogated and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) handed the contract at a reduced cost, the report added.

Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, expressed joy at the outcome of the case, stating that the country has been able to save billions of Ghana Cedis.

“Sibton had neither acquired the license nor fulfilled the condition precedent for the effectiveness of the rights and obligations of the parties,” a review of the Sibton contract by Ghana’s Central Bank had reached.

Also, the Bank of Ghana noted that Sibton Switch’s tender price was 33 times more expensive than the next most expensive bid.

During the arbitration, the Arbitral Panel made an interim award in favour of the Bank of Ghana, requiring Sibton Switch to make an interim award payment for the security of costs by July 2019.