Cooking of Unibank books: in USA, Duffour and co could get 40 years in prison – Vormawor

Private legal practitioner and activist, Oliver Berka Vormawor, has reacted to the revelation made by the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, that UniBank was cooking its books to look good while listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

At the Government Accountability Series yesterday, Dr. Ayine said that “GH¢2.1 billion did not involve cash outflows. In other words, money did not go out to anybody but book entries designed to make uniBank look good.”

This Lawyer Vormawor said in a facebook post that “The most serious aspect of Unibank’s infractions is the fact that a publicly listed company was cooking its books.”

In America that’s at least 40 years in Prison for its principal officers; and their auditors – He added

In justifying his decision to discountinued the Unibank case, the Attony Genral said:

1. GH¢2.1 billion did not involve cash outflows. In other words, money did not go out to anybody but book entries designed to make uniBank look good
2. GH¢ 0.3 billion is being pursued for recovery by the receiver through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as UniSecurities is involved.
3. The criminal/civil case has persisted for over 6 years with no immediate resolution in sight.
4. The complex nature of the case has delayed meaningful recoveries, and prolonged litigation could lead to further lower recoveries due to legal costs, procedural delays, the time value of money and the concealment of assets.
5. Charges were legally contestable, as records showed that there was a high likelihood that the defence could have raised sufficient doubt to procure an acquittal, and if that happened, as seen in the Beige Capital case, AG would not have been able to recover even GH¢1.
6. Dr Ayine claims there was no asset tracing by the previous government or asset-freezing orders before he took office, and was approached by lawyers for the accused persons. Assets depreciate and may even disappear before the prosecutor lays hands on them.
7. Dr Ayine claims he was offered GH¢10 million by the lawyers of Beige Bank as a settlement, but he refused. Today, he cannot get even a cedi.
8. Dr Ayine says it is illusory for anyone to think that the government can recover 100% in any case due to depreciation and other factors.
9. Dr Ayine says the conviction of Dr Duffour and other accused persons was not guaranteed.
10. The AG has managed to recover GH¢824 million in landed properties, with a plan to settle payments over a period of months.
11. Monies that were held by third parties that owed UniBank, including contractors, were up to GH¢2.9 billion, but the Ministry of Finance under the erstwhile administration did not pay the contractors to satisfy the debt obligation.