It has emerged that the now-defunct UT Bank at a point saved Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta’s company from collapsing.
In a yet-to-be televised no holds barred exclusive interview with TV3 Business Focus, President of UT Holdings, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, revealed while President Nana Akufo-Addo was in opposition, he borrowed money from UT, ostensibly to fund his political campaign.
“In actual fact, our president; today’s president, when he was in opposition in his own party in around 2003, he came to UT of all places, a local company, and we gave him a loan and he admits that.
“The Minister of Finance, same thing; his own company would have gone down…and I said this’s Ghanaian company and they still got the potential and we help them out,” Mr Amoabeng said in the interview which on TV3.
The Bank of Ghana on Monday, August 14, 2017 revoked the licences of UT and Capital banks due to their insolvency, leading to a seamless takeover of the two banks by GCB Bank.
UT Bank, which was trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange, had its listing status also suspended.
Provisional figures showed the total liability of UT Bank stood at GH¢850 million while its total assets was pegged at GH¢112 million.
Mr Amoabeng has since the revocation of the licence of UT Bank been a subject of investigations for what the central bank has termed as ‘willful deceit’.
Ofori-Atta and I were ‘very close’
The businessman revealed he “used to be very, very close to him [Ken Ofori-Atta]” but said, “I’m sure now I’m not his friend anymore”.
He recalled how Mr Ofori-Atta called him on phone the day before his bank’s licence was revoked but the Finance Minister never mentioned anything about it.
According to him, they had a “normal chat” which bothered on family, noting he woke up the next morning, August 4, 2017 to find several missed calls on his phone.
“I woke up in the money and…I had 66 missed calls and I said the world is coming to an end,” he said in the interview, noting he immediately called his daughter who broke the news of the collapse of UT Bank to him.
Talking about the financial institution he created which existed for over 20 years before its eventual collapse, Mr Amoabeng said UT created the now waste management giant, Zoomlion, which started off by selling exercise books, saying “we gave him (owner) funding to buy a printing machine”.
‘We never gave money to political parties’
Though Mr Amoabeng said he gave loan to President Akufo-Addo, he indicated that politics was one area UT Bank never supported.
The company, he said, “never gave money to any political party” for the over 20 years it existed, a policy he indicated, ruffled political feathers, leading to the end of the financial institution.
For him, politicians do not mean well for the country for which reason he was not ready to give his money to support them to win political power to superintend over corruption.
“I said I don’t trust that they meant well for this country,” Mr Amoabeng told Paa Kwesi Asare, adding “I wasn’t going to give them my money for them to come to power and be corrupt on the people. That was my policy”.
According to him, the only time his money went into politics was when his sister, who he did not name, stood for primaries.
The business mogul indicated even in the midst of his crisis he resolved not to turn to politicians and people in high places, including pastors because they were going to eventually become his “head of HR” and be asking that their constituents and congregants were given employment.
Mr Amoabeng said he only “wanted people with merit” in his company and not those handpicked by politicians and pastors to be employed.
He said because he did not support politicians, he “failed on all counts and therefore, I was really a target for whoever”.
Source: 3news.com
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you are a biog shame.
he was asked about his political background and that people were insinuating that the loan he gave to Ibrahim led to the collapse of the bank and his answer was that he does not belong to any political party and if anything, he had given loans to now finance minister Ofori Atta and president Akuffo Addobefore. people are shallow minded and hate to read and understand but rather quick to jump to conclusion and insult.
Mr. Amoabeng how will giving loans to the current president then in opposition and that of the finance minister be a point of consideration on this issue of insolvency? Are you saying the two high figures today did not pay back their loans? Even if they did not pay, what management measure was considered to retrieve the monies? Mr. Amoabeng, people still respect you for the initial aggressive style adapted to build your firm. You made the youth sit up and that record is there. Related to the collapse of UT bank, please talk facts and official and close the rants. In business, there is nothing like a family or friends (business entity concept disregard the comments being made and calling on Ghanaians to think that the leaders today have collapsed your business). You are principle and therefore stay in that line of principle which emanates from procedures and processes. This is how you started and therefore many were expecting you to roll on principle attitude, not family and friends style. This is a lesson to managers today, always separate family and friends issues from business decisions to survive and live long. sorry Mr. Amoabeng for ending as a failure of principle. God will lift you up if you take this not on parochial line but a big lesson to move out in the future.
This man, needs a psychological test. He’s talking like a child. What was he expecting Ken or Nana to do? He should playback the interview he granted and listen to himself. I think he needs hel, seriously! The Amoabeng we knew isn’t the same person in this interview. Nothing add up from all his ranting. What is the law doing about these people? Shouldn’t they be languishing in jail by now? Will the laws of Ghana ever bite? Cry my beloved country. We got ways ahead of us. Is the Blackman capable of managing his own affairs? In France even the president will go to jail if found guilty of an offense. Ghana is bleeding!
“I woke up in the money ( what) money??, and…I had 66 missed calls and I said the world is coming to an end,” he said in the interview, noting he immediately called his daughter who broke the news of the collapse of UT Bank to him.
Amoabeng and those shouting that Ghanaian Businesses are being collapsed like Kwami Sefa kayi are the problem of Ghana. All the banks in Ghana - Local or foreign are almost Managed by Ghanaians. Yet when the stealing and corruption came it was only the Local banks that were affected . That tells the story of Corruption between the BOG and people like Amoanbeng who were willing to by- pass procedure for their personal lifestyles. It reminds me of how Ghanaians complained that Nkrumah made Young Pioneers to report their parents for doing wrong. Question is: were the Parents doing the right Thing. Is time we as a people must know that Righteousness Exalt a nation and Sin is a Reproach to all people. Acknowledge your failure and submit to your punishment and not these loose talks
In GH people get orgasm when you fail. Period
Dear Mr. Amoabeng, thank you for helping me to increase my respect for Nana Addo and Ken. I was beginning to loose hope in Ghana but your confessions have helped me to rather have some little hope in Ghana and the two personalities you sought to disparage. At least I now know that irrespective of friendship or business partnership, the axe will fall where it must fall. They did not use their supposed friendship to shield wrong doers. By the way, you bank was declared dead in 2015 by the World Bank. Nothing, including more injection of cash could have saved UT. In 2014, even graduate students at GIMPA accessed your bank to be in distress. Once again thank you for helping me to believe in Ghana again.
Dear Mr. Amoabeng, you are a very respected person. Stop this pointless ranting and accept that you failed at some point in your accent to the top. You are simply giving excuses for your failure
You did, and so what???