PPP defends Nduom against money laundering accusations; blames gov’t

An official press release from the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is blaming the government as well as the governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the host of accusations that Papa Kwesi Nduom has been hit with from the United States.

The PPP is of the view that its founder is innocent of all that is being pursued in a court in Illinois, USA by Birim LLC. Instead, the PPP’s statement, signed by Director of Communications Felix Mantey, maintains that the case is politically motivated by the Ghanaian government.

“The suit filed in the United States by Birim LLC is actually a continuation of the deliberate and well-orchestrated political smear campaign against a Ghanaian businessman and politician, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom by some elements in the current administration,” the PPP said.

The defence of Nduom comes against the backdrop of a case that was filed by Birim in May on behalf of two Ghanaians, namely Mavis Amanpene Sekyere and Nana Kwame Twum Barimah, described as assignors in the suit.

The suit names up to 20 transgressions that Groupe Nduom, the mother company of Nduom’s businesses, as well as some of his relatives, had allegedly committed. These wrongful acts include money laundering, breach of contract, multiple counts of fraud, negligence and interference with prospective economic advantage.

Nduom’s lawyers have already asked the court to dismiss the suit on grounds of a lack claim against the defendants.

However, Nduom’s party believes this is part of “an attempt to divert attention from the negative image that the government has suffered for its high-handedness in the [banking] reform agenda”.

Ths statement continued: “The suit is an attempt by elements in the government, working with their collaborators, to strenuously seek some form of external or third-party vindication for their deliberate collapse of the businesses of the veritable entrepreneur, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom”.

The PPP also reserved criticism for the governor of the BoG who, in a recent public appearance, sought to connect the case to the debated prudence of the banking reforms undertaken by the last Nana Akufo-Addo-led government.

At a BoG monetary policy meeting, Governor Ernest Addison had responded to a query about the suit against Nduom and the 18 others saying: “I thought that you will congratulate the Bank of Ghana for the work that was done in trying to identify the problems in that bank. Many people were out there vilifying us that we were on a witch-hunt, but now, you’ve had people outside the country suing GN Bank for the same reasons”.

In response, the PPP called the governor’s response “unfortunate, misleading and mischievous”.