On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the High Court and stated that it does indeed have jurisdiction over the case that was brought against the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in August of 2019.
The decision of the highest court sustains the decision of the High Court and clears the way for the judgement to be handed down.
The High Court will now hear the case once again before rendering a decision on the primary motion that was submitted. In the year 2020, the judge on the High Court who is now serving on the Appeals Court, Justice Gifty Addo-Adjei, declared that she was prepared to make her ruling. The attorneys for BOG have used one legal technicality after another in a strategic manner, which has caused the lawsuit to drag on for almost four years.
In August 2019, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom and other individuals filed a lawsuit against the Bank of Ghana and other parties for the revocation of the GN Bank and Savings licence.
The Bank of Ghana filed a challenge to the jurisdiction of the High Court on the grounds that the Banking Acts state that if the Bank of Ghana revokes a licence, the proper venue for the dispute is arbitration rather than the court, and the Bank of Ghana argued that the Banking Acts should be followed.
The High Court did not agree and decided to keep deliberating on the subject.
Bank of Ghana prevailed in the Appeal Court where it took its case.
Dr. Nduom filed an appeal with the Supreme Court about the decision handed down by the Court of Appeals, which ultimately led to the decision handed down today.
Following the announcement of the verdict, Dr. Nduom made the following statement in response: "On behalf of my entire family and all Groupe Nduom employees, I wish to thank the Lord our God." It is because of Him that we are able to celebrate today."
Our faith in the judicial system has been restored, and we would like to express our gratitude to the five-person panel that reviewed our complaint and found in our favour. We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to our smart and very professional lawyer, Justice Srem-Sai.
"No one triumphed in this place today. Shareholders, employees, the government, and customers have all endured hardships during the past more than six years, ranging from the uncertainty to the indignities of losing a licence, as well as the loss of scarce jobs, poor health, and, sadly, the passing of certain individuals.
"We sent petition after petition to the highest levels in the current Administration and Regulators for a win-win settlement, but our efforts were ultimately unsuccessful." Therefore, going to court was and still is our very last option.
"The struggle has not yet been won. We need to do this work in order to get our licence restored. To reestablish "the People's Bank" and bring regulated and secure banking services directly to the homes of all Ghanaians regardless of where they live in the country. We laboured over the construction of our bank for close to twenty years, only to have it destroyed in a single day. We have a responsibility to our nation to begin the methodical process of restoring it. The finished product will be a bank that is even more impressive than the one that was taken down.
"We do not have the luxury of leisure to harbour hatred or hold grudges against anyone. We want to get back to work as soon as possible. He went on to say, "We are looking forward to working diligently with the regulator, the Bank of Ghana, to press the start button on GN Bank's comeback."
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