The Commercial Division of the Koforidua High Court has struck out Joinder application filed by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) in a Crypto Currency investment scam case involving Global Coin Community Help (GCCH) .
Victims of the crypto currency scam numbering 831 filed a contempt case against Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) for failing to release an amount of Ghc3.7 million in the garnisheed account of GCCH to pay the victims.
EOCO contended that the Office and GCB have not done anything illegal to suffer any liability with the continuous preservation of the GCB account of GCCH.
Costumers of the defunct company-Global Coin Community Help, GCCH secured a judgment against the defunct company on December 10, 2018, and froze the company’s account with GCB Bank and also Garnished same account when the court ordered GCB Bank on 21st January, 2019 to release the sum of GHC3.7m to the Victims
GCB, however, refused to release the amount citing that EOCO has also secured freezing order on the same account on 18th January, 2019 at the Accra High Court a month after the customers already froze the account.
A contempt case was then filed against GCB Bank on the 22nd February, 2019 by the plaintiffs but before the commencement of the contempt hearing, EOCO on 7th March, 2019 went to file a joinder application on the contempt before the Court to be joined to the hearing.
On two separate occasions, EOCO failed to appear in court to move their own motion which compelled the presiding Judge to strike them out and asked the lawyers for both victims and GCB Bank to file the submissions for the final ruling.
Just after the orders of the presiding Judge to both sides, EOCO resurfaced in court to relist their earlier struck out motion for the joinder which was granted and moved on 20th May,2019
After the presiding Judge heard both lawyers for EOCO- Charles W. Ofori and that of the victims -Abigail Ofori Appiah (Mrs), respectively she gave her ruling on Monday 27th May, 2019.
In the ruling, the judge cited C.I.47 order 5 as grounds upon which the Application brought by EOCO to be joined to the contempt against GCB was struck out. She awarded cost of Gh3000 against EOCO.
In another development, Owner of Perfect Love Montessori School in Nsawam in the Eastern Region has filed interpleader action at the Commercial Division of the Koforidua High Court praying the Court to exempt the School from its earlier order.
The Court had earlier ordered for the auction of the School and other immovable properties of the Chief Executive Officer of defunct Global Coin Community Help (GCCH) ,Kwaku Damete Kumi.
However, in the interpleader lawsuit filed by the claimant -Bernard Nana Maccarthy through his lawyer stated that “the said building is not the property of the above -named defendant /Judgement/debtor but is a bona-fide property of the claimant and therefore the defenfant/Judgement /debtor has no interest whatesover in the said property to be seized in the execution for the debt owned by the defendant /Judgement/Debtor”.
The Court has therefore granted the request for the School to be exempted from the properties to be auctioned pending the final determination of the interpleader suite filed before the court.
The Commercial Court had earlier ordered the sale of immovable commercial properties including Perfect Love Montessori School – belonging to Kwaku Damete Kumi , the embattled Chief Executive Officer of GCCH
The order was made by the Court in a judgement in favour of some swindled customers who filed a suite praying the court to retrieve their locked up investments with the company.
The valuated properties to be auctioned on May 27, 2019 are 3-storey office Complex with open market value of GH¢3,307,200.00 however with forced sale value of GH¢2,315,000.
Again, a 3-storey block with open market value of GH¢651,400. is being sold at GH¢455,900.
A two office space facility is also being auctioned for GH¢32,700.instead of its market value of GH¢46,700.
Already leaders of the victims of the crypto currency investment scam have called on President Akufo-Addo and the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo to call the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to order for frustrating their efforts to retrieve some GH¢3.7 million from the account of the defunct financial company.
The amount is in garnisheed account of GCCH at the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).
The amount represents just a minute fraction of over GH¢15 million the plaintiffs prayed the Koforidua Court to recoup from the company to pay for their lost deposits at GCCH.
The victims include personnel in the security services, nurses, business women, traders among others.
Background
In September, 2018 Global Coin Community Help (GCCH) abruptly closed down its offices in Accra, Koforidua and Nsawam without any notice to its over hundred -thousand customers.
A panic action which was taken after the Bank of Ghana issued strong warning to unlicensed deposit taking institutions to stop operating. Customers of the crypto currency firm sensing danger of their lost investments, dashed in groups to petition EOCO to assist them retrieve their locked up investments.
The victims were advised by EOCO to take legal action against the company upon which separate civil suits were filed at the Koforidua High Court against the GCCH company and its CEO, Kweku Damete Kumi on the 20th and 23rd November, 2018.
On December, 2018 and January, 2019 the plaintiffs secured two separate judgements in absentia as defendant failed to make appearance in court.
Before the judgement, the Court granted the victims an Interlocutory Injunction order on the account of the company at GCB Bank on the10th of December, 2018.
Ten days to the expiration of the freezing order, the court granted an additional freezing order which preserved the account till determination of the matter.
On 19th January, 2019 EOCO also went to secure a freezing order on the same account at the Accra High Court.
The Koforidua High Court on 21st January, 2019 ordered GCB Bank to pay the customers an amount of Gh¢2.9 million which the bank accepted to comply.
However on February 4, 2019, GCB Bank returned to court through a motion to inform the court about their challenge in complying with the payment order and asked for further directions from the court due to the fact that the Bank had also received another injunction from Accra High Court by EOCO to keep the same account frozen.
After the court heard both counsels for plaintiff and the GCB Bank, the final ruling from the Koforidua High Court Judge was an order to GCB Bank to release the funds within seven days.
In addition, the judge concluded that, due to the indolent conduct of EOCO, they were not to benefit from the said account.
“The Plaintiffs, I find, have been proactive and brought their complaint before the court as advised by EOCO. EOCO on the other hand has been very indolent and should not benefit from their indolence at the expense of the diligent plaintiffs in the instant case,” excerpt of the ruling stated.
Despite this ruling, GCB Bank refused to release the money.
After a month of follow ups by the plaintiffs on GCB Bank to pay which proved futile, a contempt application was filed against GCB Bank on 11th of March, 2019.
Just before the commencement of the hearing of the contempt application against GCB Bank, EOCO rushed to the court to file for a joinder to be part of the contempt hearing.
EOCO was thrown out of court for their refusal to appear to move the motion they have filed.
But EOCO returned to the court to get their motion relisted a week later and filed another motion for joinder. For the second time, EOCO was thrown out of court again for their absence in court to move the motion which a cost of GH¢1,000 was slapped on EOCO.
On April 23,2019 EOCO returned to court again to file for the re-enlistment of their motion for joinder for the third time just when the judge has asked Counsel of the plaintiffs to file her hearing application for the contempt.
The Koforidua Circuit Court “B” had already issued a bench warrant on the 10th April, 2019 for the arrest of the Directors of the Company – Kwaku Damete Kumi and two others but EOCO on the 29th April, 2019 reportedly blocked Police Personnel from the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters from arresting them.
On May 8, 2019 EOCO failed to appear in Court to move its own motion filed as Joinder to the contempt against GCB Bank.
The judge ordered that EOCO be served with the hearing notice for them to appear on May 20, 2019 .The court again awarded a cost of GH¢500 against EOCO.
EOCO moves Joinder Motion on Monday.
On Monday May 20 ,2019, Counsel for EOCO pleaded with the court to allow the Office relist their JOINDER motion which was initially struck out of court which was granted by the Judge since the Cousel for the Palintiffs-Abigail Ofori Appiah Esquire did not raise any objection .
The Presiding Judge therefore asked EOCO to move the motion.In the submission of Cousel for EOCO ,he said GCB bank has not committed any crime for them to be punished for contempt rather, they acted upon the freezing order granted to EOCO by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction.
After minutes of oral submissions by the counsel of EOCO , Counsel for the plaintiffs argued in a rebuttal that, there is no provision in C.I. 47 order 50 for a third party or an interested party to be joined to contempt case. Therefore EOCO’s plea to join in the Contempt case against GCB should not be granted.
The Judge has therefore set May 27,2019 for ruling on whether or not EOCO’s application for Joinder will be granted.
Meanwhile the Court has fixed 5th July for the final ruling on the contempt case against GCB Bank.
On May 13, 2019 the Commercial Division of the Koforidua High Court struck out a motion by GCB praying the Court to make the plaintiffs stay of execution pending an Appeal which it has filed challenging an early ruling of the court ordering the release of GH¢3.7million from the account of GCCH at GCB Bank in seven days.
The court awarded cost of GH¢4000 against the GCB Bank and on same day, the Koforidua High Court 4 adjourned a similar hearing to May 29, 2019 upon request by Counsel for GCB Bank to respond to legal argument of counsel of the Plaintiffs.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah