The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dispelled claims that the delay in paying aggrieved customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management Limited is a clear and deliberate act perpetrated by the Ministry of Finance.
In a press release issued on Wednesday in Accra, SEC explained that the delays were the result of a legal action mounted by Gold Coast, now Blackshield, contesting the liquidation petition brought by the Official Liquidator (Office of the Registrar of Companies) at the request of the SEC following the revocation of licences of some fifty-three fund management companies in 2019.
“We wish to state that the delay in payment of bailout funds to affected customers is not due to the refusal of the Ministry of Finance to provide funds. The delay is principally due to the legal action by Blackshield/Gold
Coast contesting the liquidation petition brought by the Official Liquidator (Office of the Registrar of Companies) at the request of SEC following the revocation of licences. The SEC will continue to support the Official Liquidator in pursuing the liquidation petition in court,” the statement said.
SEC also indicated that it was not true that none of the customers of the fund have been paid yet.
It explained that some partial payments have been made where the affected customers were appropriately validated.
“SEC can confirm that so far GH¢4.6 billion has been paid as follows: GH¢3.1 billion to Amalgamated Fund Tier 1 payments and GH¢1.45 billion assigned to Amalgamated Fund Tier 2 payments,” it said.
The statement added, “This disbursement includes the partial bailout programme, which entailed the proactive payment of a threshold sum of up to GH¢50,000 to clients of Blackshield/Gold Coast and other companies who had not received Winding up orders from the Court by October 2020, but whose claims had been validated. Altogether, 73,541 claims, amounting to GH¢1.34 billion, have been paid to Blackshield/Gold Coast clients in the partial bailout programme. Out of this amount, a total amount of GH¢ 757,539,141 has been used to fully settle 61,734 claims of Blackshield/Goldcoast customers.”
BY TIMES REPORTER
