RE: Bright Simons stands his ground in dispute with ECG and Fidelity Bank

Following our publication of a statement from Fidelity Bank disputing an X (formerly Twitter) post by Bright Simons regarding a forex transaction between the Bank and ECG, Ghanaweb has been contacted by representatives of Bright Simons, a public interest advocate and policy activist.

According to documents shown to Ghanaweb, solicitors of Bright Simons responded to Fidelity Bank on March 04 2024, and categorically denied the Bank’s claims that the allegations made by Bright Simons on Twitter are false and without factual basis.

Lawyers for Bright Simons have reiterated the position that the suggestion of “sweetheart” forex deals was based on clear and incontrovertible information supplied by ECG to the Cash Waterfall Mechanism Committee. In December 2023, ECG stated that it purchased $43 million at an exchange rate of more than 13.95 GHS to the Dollar in October 2023. Based on the prevailing rate at the time of roughly 11.5 GHS to 1 USD, ACEP and IMANI have estimated that ECG lost 80 Million GHS on the transaction.

Bright Simons’ lawyers and representatives have also indicated that investigations by IMANI and ACEP into this matter, and several others related to the dealings of energy sector state-owned enterprises (like ECG) with various parties, which account for the ongoing challenges being experienced in the energy sector, continue unabated. The public shall be updated of developments as and when they occur, they added.