Following the sentencing of founder of defunct Capital Bank William Ato Essien by an Accra High Court, some have asked why other key decision makers in the bank were not equally prosecuted.
The name of the Board Chairman, Dr. Mensah Otabil who heads the International Central Gospel Church, has come up strongly.
It is, however, worth noting that despite not having criminal charges filed against him, Dr. Otabil and 14 others have since 2019 been the subject of a civil action initiated by the Receiver of the defunct bank.
The 14 others include William Ato Essien, Oheneba Osei Akoto, Stephen Enchill, Kingsley Atta Ghansah, Otabil and Associates, International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Kwadwo Ayisi Ahwireng, Isaac Osah Thompson-Mensah and John Kofi Mensah who are all shareholders of the defunct company and Fitzgerald Odonkor, Amadu Montia, Kofi Kwakwa and Francis Adu-Mante who were directors of the company.
Why Civil action?
The Receiver is seeking to recover more than 800 million cedis from these individuals. For instance, the High Court is being asked to recover 468 million cedis being shareholders loan and 108 million cedis being facilities granted to Ato Essien and his related companies which remain outstanding. The court has also been asked to allow a recovery of 51 million cedis from the ICGC.
