Honorary Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has sharply criticised the Attorney General’s claim of recovering 60% of Unibank’s liabilities, insisting that only about 10.6% has been realised.
In a detailed post on his social media page on Monday, July 28, Mr Simons described the government’s recovery figures as “financially misconceived” and argued that the public has been misled.
According to him, the original direct exposure of GH¢5.7 billion—believed to be the financial loss Ghana suffered through the bank’s collapse—has now been controversially revised to GH¢3.3 billion.
Out of this, GH¢800 million is to be recovered through the forfeiture of properties, while GH¢1.2 billion is expected from the debtors of Unibank.
Four malls in Ghana and Nigeria, including West Africa’s largest mall (West Hills), are being sold by two real estate players – Hyprop and Atterbury’s Attacq – at a considerable loss to a lucky buyer: a young, ambitious, pan-African, real estate investor called, Lango.
The four… pic.twitter.com/28sjPb9fbT
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) August 18, 2024
However, he contends that these sums are far too small in light of the massive losses involved.
“If we use market exchange rates, the government has recovered only $160 million of a liability that may well exceed $1.5 billion,” he stated.
“That is barely 10.6% of the total losses to Ghana’s welfare!” He added that even the amount Unibank’s owners admitted as liability—over $1 billion—has not been matched by the government’s current settlement figures.
Mr Simons further called for transparency from the Bank of Ghana and the appointed Receiver, noting their silence on the matter despite being key players in the saga.
“In any serious country, the press conference of the AG today would be the beginning, not the end, of the national debate,” he asserted.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
