CAL Shareholder's Fraudulent Deals Exposed

Bank of Ghana’s investigations into a 14.86 million Ghana cedi acquisition of CAL Bank shares is refocusing the spotlight on Mr. Afari Donkor, one of the major shareholders of the bank and the real intentions behind his desire to see current managing Director of the bank Frank Adu Junior from office.

Afari Donkor requested an extraordinary general meeting of the bank’s shareholders to among other things remove Frank Adu as MD of the bank and re-instate himself as a member of the board of Directors of the bank.

Just a few days to the EGM, some movements on the Ghana Stock Exchange regarding CAL bank shares has aroused the suspicion of the Bank of Ghana. Afari Donkor’s best friend and business partner Oppong Bio is buying up more than 14 million Ghana Cedis worth of shares in the Bank. The Bank of Ghana under the anti-money laundering rules among others is now investigating the source of the money and whether he is fronting for Mr. Afari Donkor or otherwise.

It is not the first time Afari Donkor is being investigated for his dealings in CAL Bank shares.

Bank of Ghana froze his shares in CAL Bank after it emerged that he had used his position as MD of the bank and its subsidiary stockbrokers SDCL to fraudulently award loans to himself to purchase his initial shares in the bank. He also borrowed substantially to buy a house at Roman Ridge. However Afare Donkor fraudulently booked the loans in the names of Blackwood Hodge, Allied Investments and Vanguard Assurance without the knowledge of these companies.

While Afare Donkor was stuffing himself with loans he made sure his wife’s company Indecor Ltd and Cedon Company limited were also granted substantial loans. Mr. Ishmael Yamson, at the time a Director of SDCI resigned over “horrifying revelations of financial irregularities and improper granting of facilities by the Management and Board Chairman.

Afari Donkor who is now Ghana’s ambassador to China was a hair’s breadth away from prison term. It is his dealings in the past that has caused the Bank of Ghana to raise the red flag over the nine million dollar acquisition of shares and whether the source of his money is clean.

Meanwhile shareholders of CAL BANK on condition of anonymity say they are wary of Afari Donkor and his real intentions of amassing CAL BANK stocks and his desire to remove Frank Adu as Managing Director. They reason that CAL Bank has become one of the most profitable banks under Frank Adu jnr and wonder why Afari Donkor wants to see him go. At the recent banking Awards CAL Bank outperformed itself by picking four gold awards and one silver.

Other shareholders say Afari-Donkor, who is the founding Managing Director of the Bank wants to take over the bank after proposing himself to be on the board of Directors and even proposing Yoofi Grant as his preferred Managing Director. They claim that Afari Donkor is only seeking his interest and not the common good of all shareholders of the bank. Additionally they claim Afari Donkor’s history of using his position to manipulate and fraudulently acquiring shares in the bank in the 1990’s does not sit easy with them.

The extraordinary General meeting of the Bank is scheduled for this week but it is yet unknown if the Bank of Ghana will clear Oppong Bio to come to the EGM with his newly acquired stocks. Afari Donkor currently owns 11 % of the Bank and is the largest individual shareholder of the Bank. He is also the second largest shareholder after the Social Security and National Trust SSNIT who own 26 % who owns 11% of the bank to carry along his newly acquired stock portfolio into the EGM.