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, the SEC explained that the delays are the result of a legal action mounted by Blackshield/Gold Coast 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 licenses of some fifty-three fund management companies in 2019.
Aggrieved customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management Limited have been picketing at the Ministry of Finance to demand their principals and investments be paid to them, alleging that some budgetary allocations were made for their payment in the 2023 budget but the Finance Ministry has refused to release the funds.
However, SEC denied the allegations and absolved the Ministry of Finance of any wrong doing.
“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.”
SEC also indicated that it is 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.
“The SEC can confirm that so far, GH¢4.6 billion has been paid as follows: GHS3.1 billion to Amalgamated Fund Tier 1 payments and GH¢1.45 billion assigned to Amalgamated Fund Tier 2 payments. This disbursement includes the partial bailout program, which entailed the proactive payment of a threshold sum of up to Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (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 program. 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.”
