On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s determination that it had jurisdiction over the action brought against the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in August 2019.
The determination of the Supreme Court maintains the decision of the High Court and opens the way for judgement.
The matter has now been returned to the High Court for a decision on the principal motion filed.
Justice Gifty Addo-Adjei, now an Appeals Court Judge, indicated in 2020 that she was ready to render her decision.
One technicality after another, used skillfully by BoG attorneys, has caused the litigation to travel for nearly four years.
In August 2019, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom and others sued BoG and others over the cancellation of the GN Bank/Savings licence.
The Bank of Ghana disputed the High Court’s jurisdiction on the grounds that the Banking Acts provide that if a licence is cancelled by the Bank of Ghana, the proper forum is arbitration, not the court.
The High Court, however, disagreed and continued to hear the case.
The Bank of Ghana appealed and won.
Dr Nduom challenged the Court of Appeals ruling to the Supreme Court, which resulted in today’s verdict.
In a brief comment, Dr Nduom said after the ruling: “On behalf of my entire family and all Groupe Nduom employees, I wish to thank the Lord our God. It is He who has made this day possible.
“To the five-member panel who reviewed our complaint and agreed with us, we thank you for restoring our faith in the judiciary system. To our brilliant and highly professional counsel Justice Srem-Sai, we say well done!
“Nobody won here today. Shareholders, employees, government, and customers all have suffered for more than six years – from the uncertainties to the indignities of losing a license; losing scarce jobs, poor health and for some, unfortunately, death.
“We sent petition after petition to the highest levels in the current Administration and Regulators for a win-win settlement but were not successful. So the courts were and remain our last resort.
“The battle has not ended. We want our license back and our task is clear. To rebuild “the People’s Bank” and take formal and safe banking to the doorstep of every person living anywhere in Ghana.”
“It took us nearly 20 years to build our bank only for it to be pulled down in one day. We have a national duty to build it back step by step. The end result will be an even better bank than what was pulled down.
“We don’t have time to hate or be against anyone. We want to get back to work. We are looking forward to working diligently with the regulator, the Bank of Ghana, to press the start button to bring back GN Bank,” he added.
