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The Court of Appeal has overturned the revocation of the operating licence of GN Savings and Loans, marking a major legal victory for the company and its shareholders after nearly seven years of legal battles.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal quashed an earlier High Court ruling that had upheld the decision by the Bank of Ghana to revoke the company’s licence.
The appellate court ruled that the decision to revoke the licence was unfair and unreasonable.
The court further directed the receiver to hand over the company’s assets, management and operational control back to its shareholders, effectively restoring the company’s authority to operate.
The case dates back to January 4, 2019, when GN Bank was downgraded and reclassified as a savings and loans company under the new name GN Savings and Loans Company Limited.
However, on August 16, 2019, the Bank of Ghana, under then Governor Ernest Addison, revoked the company’s operating licence as part of Ghana’s banking sector clean-up exercise.
Following the revocation, Eric Nana Nipah was appointed as receiver to oversee the affairs of the company.
That same year, the owners of the company, Groupe Nduom led by businessman Papa Kwesi Nduom, challenged the central bank’s decision in court.
In January 2024, the High Court in Accra ruled in favour of the Bank of Ghana’s decision to revoke the licence.
Unsatisfied with the judgment, the shareholders appealed the ruling, leading to the Court of Appeal’s latest decision overturning the earlier verdict.
Reacting to the ruling, Dr Nduom described the past seven years as painful and emotionally exhausting for the company, its workers and stakeholders.
“It’s been a difficult seven years. We want to thank family. We want to thank all of our employees. We’ve had some very, very loyal, hardworking employees who have stood with us all these years,” he stated.
He also thanked God for sustaining them through what he described as an unimaginable ordeal.
“This has been a very, very tough, very difficult time that we have gone through. It’s just unimaginable,” he added.
Dr Nduom further revealed that the company would soon organise a press conference to provide more details about its experience following the licence revocation.
While acknowledging the impact of the closure, including job losses, destroyed assets and emotional hardship, he expressed optimism about rebuilding the company stronger than before.
“Some people have died. Some have lost their jobs. Assets have been destroyed. Many things will not get back. But what we promise is that we will restore this country. We will restore our business. And we will make certain that our second time is even better than the first time,” he stated.
The ruling marks a significant development in one of Ghana’s most closely followed financial sector legal disputes and could reignite public discussions surrounding the country’s banking sector reforms and financial clean-up exercise.
