Outspoken Member of Parliament for Assin Central Honourable Kennedy Agyapong has said the woes of UT Bank which led to its collapse was caused, largely by unpaid loans totaling GH¢ 302m given to businessman Ibrahim Mahama’s companies.
According to the lawmaker, in a tape MYNEWSGH.com has obtained, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama alone, through various companies namely Dzata Cement, MBG Limited, Engineers and Planners and other companies contracted various loan sums in dollars and in cedis, without making any efforts to pay back when it was due, exposing UT bank and eventually, its collapse.
“Now listen here, UT Bank, Ibrahim’s company called Dzata Cement. Listen, me I hate lies. it says the Principal arrears overdue is $28,031,160.73. It is in dollars. When you add it with interest and arrears overdue, you have $1,050,785.00. Penal overdue as at 31st August 2017 is $3,946,058.57 cents.” He said.
“Now his total outstanding loan is $38,028,005.19.” He added.
Mr Ken Agyapong said there were other loans in cedis in addition to the dollar-denominated loans:
“When you come to Ghana Cedi denomination facilities, Khoman? brothers, he owes GH¢ 71,990,813.11 pesewas. MBG Limited he owes GH¢71,263,181.53 pesewas. Engineers and Planners Company, he owes GH¢10,669,979.22 pesewas”, he said.
Mr Ken Agyapong, whom many accuse of being envious of Mr Ibrahim Mahama over the latter’s wealth, questioned why people will regard Mr Ibrahim Mahama as a rich man in the first place, when he doesn’t or is unable to pay his debts, citing the UT Bank loans.
The Assin Central MP proceeded to add the totals of both the cedis and the dollars debts.
“The total outstanding balance for the cedis loans to UT Bank is GH¢ 53,923,970.86”, he said.
MYNEWSGH.com noted him emphasizing that all the amounts he was mentioning were exposures, not to two or three banks, but to only one bank – UT Bank.
“This is exposure to just one bank. When you convert to dollars it is 68 million. When you bring it to cedis it is 302 million Ghana cedis.” He calculated, using an exchange rate of one dollar to 4.44 cedis.
He questioned the wisdom of the managers of UT Bank, forgiving one person a loan of 68 million dollars, knowing that it was the same face behind all the companies.
“… I ask UT Bank, how much is their single obligor for them to able to give 68million loan to one person. He has divided the companies, but it is the same face.” He said.
In the tape, he indicated that his colleague Member of Parliament from the NDC had jokingly told him that he speaks against Mr Ibrahim Mahama because Ibrahim was richer than him.
He said that is not the case, and that Ibrahim Mahama has himself told him (Ken Agyapong) about how indebted he is for which no one should envy him.
“The last time I talked about Ibrahim’s cars which he was taking to the airport to service abroad. One NDC MP with whom I have a cordial relationship came to whisper to me that ‘aah, what you are doing to Ibrahim, is it because he has more money than you’, then I said ah if he has more money than me and so what.” He narrated.
“Me I have met him once at the airport and he himself said that no one should envy him because as for him the debt he is owing people… Yes, he himself told me.”, Ken Agyapong alleged.
It appeared Mr Ibrahim Mahama taking his cars abroad for servicing actually got to Ken Agyapong as he kept referring to it over and over:
“[See his debts… ] Such a person claims he had money and can take his car and put it in a plane abroad for servicing yet nobody is going after him for this UT money”, Ken Agyapong said.
He revealed that someone had informed him that Ibrahim Mahama vowed not to pay back the loan to Mr Amoabeng.
“Somebody told me he vowed that they won’t pay the money to Amoabeng, and true, he didn’t pay”, Mr Ken Agyapong added.
He called on government not to allow the debtors of UT Bank and Capital Bank to go Scott free, revealing, that in addition to the loans Mr Ibrahim Mahama refused, or was unable to pay, UT Bank had other outstanding loans of GH¢ 215,002,064.55 from many other companies, making a total of over GH¢500,000,000 million.
“Are they saying that is all? No one is asking questions about retrieving these monies? You people make life so easy. If this is how to do business then everyone can go for some of these loans and say he won’t pay”, Ken Agyapong said.
He called on the banking authorities to go after the collaterals of the debtors if they have one.
“I am asking a question when the person was coming for the loan, what was his collateral? So can’t they go after the collateral? You don’t go after the collateral? And they are walking around Ghana, ‘kyeres333’, they have collapsed a bank and they are okay that it has collapsed. The number of people who have lost their jobs because of this.” He concluded.
