AG (R) says Dr Duffour only took a risk
Attorney-General Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine has stated that there was no evidence of theft or personal enrichment against former Finance Minister Kwabena Duffour in relation to the collapsed Unibank Ghana Limited, insisting that the criminal charges previously filed could not be sustained in law.
Speaking in a detailed explanation of the state’s handling of the financial sector clean-up cases with Bola Ray on Starr Chat, the Attorney-General said public attention had largely focused on Unibank because of the prominence of the Duffour family, rather than on the actual legal evidence available.
He contrasted the Unibank matter with the prosecution of Capital Bank, where, he said, investigators uncovered clear evidence of criminal conduct.
“In the Capital Bank trial, there was evidence that whenever liquidity support was given by the Bank of Ghana, the former managing director dishonestly appropriated those funds,” the Attorney-General said.
According to him, prosecutors presented evidence showing that some of the liquidity support was physically transported in a vehicle to a private garage at the managing director’s residence, complete with geographic tracking of the movement of funds.
Risk-taking is not a crime
Turning to Unibank, the Attorney-General argued that banking failures alone do not amount to criminal liability, particularly where liquidity support was applied through conventional banking operations.
“If liquidity support is applied in accordance with normal banking rules and the bank still collapses, you cannot criminalise the conduct of the owners or directors simply because the risk did not pay off,” he said.
He added that banking, by its nature, involves risk-taking, including the possibility of loan defaults.
“You cannot turn around and say that because a bank received liquidity support and later failed, its directors must be prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state. It doesn’t happen anywhere,” he said.
No theft, no fraudulent breach of trust
The Attorney-General challenged critics to point to any evidence showing that Mr Duffour or Unibank directors stole money.
“There was no evidence that the Duffours stole money,” he said.
He further dismissed allegations of fraudulent breach of trust, explaining that under Ghanaian law, the relationship between a bank and its customers is contractual, not fiduciary.
“That is a fundamental principle of law. You cannot say there is a fraudulent breach of trust simply because depositors placed money in a bank and the bank extended loans that later failed,” he explained.
On claims that Unibank lent funds to affiliate companies linked to its owners, the Attorney-General said such transactions alone did not constitute criminal conduct without proof of dishonesty or theft.
Withdrawal of charges
The Attorney-General said these legal challenges made it difficult for the state to proceed with criminal prosecution, leading to the eventual withdrawal of charges.
He noted, however, that Unibank’s directors were still facing civil claims brought by the bank’s receiver, and he remained open to asset recovery as a way of addressing liabilities.
“I said they could either offer assets to cover part of the liability or go and stand trial. But I knew that eventually they would be acquitted because the evidence simply was not there,” he said.
He reaffirmed that the allegations against Unibank were not about theft or personal enrichment, a position he said he continues to stand by.
