Customers of defunct Gold Coast Fund Management Company Limited have lambasted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for making a U-turn on an earlier payment plan by seeking a liquidation order before plans are put in place to disburse locked-up funds.
The aggrieved customers on Thursday, May 4, returned to the premises of SEC to picket again in a bid to demand payment of their locked-up funds.
The leaders of the aggrieved customers presented a petition to SEC to consider releasing their funds to them.
The collapsed financial institution under the name BlackShield Capital Limited had about 55,000 customers whose funds were locked up shortly before the regulator revoked its license.
The Convener of aggrieved customers of the defunct fund management company, Charles Nyame, speaking to the media, said it’s pointless for SEC to acquire a liquidation order before releasing their cash.
“After an amount of GH¢5.5 billion was approved in the 2021 budget statement for payments, then SEC made a U-turn by bringing in conditions that unless they get a liquidation order before they can disburse a bailout package that has been approved by Parliament. This doesn’t make sense at all. This is the reason why we want the whole world to know that people are dying”.
“We do not agree to the conditions they are placing on our payments. It’s been five years now, and we are still counting. Should people keep dying? Who made those conditions? Can’t those conditions be reversed so that lives could be saved,” a livid Charles Nyame said.
He asserted that SEC officials are being economical with the truth accusing the Commission of deliberately refusing to go by the payment plan made by the government.
“We are not satisfied at all, we think that they are trying to be economical with the truth. They said that government gave two conditions, one being validation of claims and securing of a liquidation order. Meanwhile, that was not the initial stance of SEC, they said they were confronted with two options to pay us. One is, using a bailout package and the other going through the liquidation route. According to SEC, they advised the government to use a bailout package. This was in an official press statement they released”.
He reiterated, “The reason they advised the government to use the bailout package was that per their experiences, they have some liquidation case on their table that has taken more than two decades. And for that matter advised the government that we, the customers of defunct Gold Coast Fund Management Company Limited, our monies are legitimate and should be paid”.
