Honorary Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has raised serious questions over the Attorney General’s handling of the Unibank settlement, arguing that the deal falls far short of what the bank’s owners themselves once admitted to owing.
He posted his analysis on Monday, July 28, stating, “Claiming ‘pragmatism’ is not enough.”
Simons pointed out that in a letter dated 31 July 2018—just before Unibank’s licence was revoked—the bank’s main shareholders admitted to liabilities of GH¢4.9 billion and proposed the liquidation of assets worth GH¢3.52 billion.
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
“How then does the liability now get revised to GH¢ 3.3 billion?” he asked, calling the new figure questionable and lacking in rigour.
He criticised the Attorney General’s decision to terminate civil proceedings while also dropping criminal charges.
“If anything at all, the criminal action could have been maintained to apply pressure even as a negotiated settlement was pursued,” Mr Simons argued.
He believes abandoning both legal avenues weakens public confidence in the accountability of high-profile financial crimes.
Simons concluded that the Unibank case highlights a deeper governance crisis.
“There is a big capital hole—nearly $1.8 billion large. And the government’s deal is nowhere near plugging it,” he wrote, calling on authorities to provide a full, honest accounting of the nation’s financial exposure and to uphold public interest above political or personal ties.
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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.
