By: Ashiadey Dotse
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine Akuritinga, has explained that there was no evidence of theft or personal enrichment in the UniBank case, leading to the withdrawal of criminal charges against former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffour and other directors of the defunct bank.
Speaking on Starr Chat in an interview with broadcaster Bola Ray, Dr Ayine said investigations into the collapse of UniBank did not meet the legal standards required for criminal prosecution. He noted that public discussion of the case was largely influenced by the prominence of the Duffour family, rather than the facts and evidence needed to sustain charges in court.
According to him, a review of cases from Ghana’s financial sector clean-up showed that UniBank’s situation was different from others where criminal wrongdoing was clearly established.
Dr Ayine compared the UniBank case to that of Capital Bank, where prosecutors found clear evidence of criminal conduct. He said investigations revealed that liquidity support given by the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank was dishonestly taken by the bank’s former managing director for personal use.
“In the Capital Bank case, there was clear evidence that funds meant to support the bank were physically diverted to a private garage at the managing director’s residence. That is pure stealing,” he said.
However, the Attorney-General said no such evidence existed in the UniBank case. He explained that receiving liquidity support and later collapsing does not automatically make bank owners or directors criminals.
“If liquidity support is used through normal banking processes and the bank still fails, you cannot criminalise the directors just because the business did not succeed,” Dr Ayine stated.
He stressed that risk-taking is part of banking, and that business failure or loan defaults are not crimes unless there is proof of fraud, dishonesty, or theft.
Responding to claims that UniBank’s owners looted depositors’ funds, Dr Ayine said investigations found no evidence to support such allegations. “There was no evidence that the Duffours stole money,” he said.
He also dismissed claims of fraudulent breach of trust, explaining that under Ghanaian law, the relationship between a bank and its customers is contractual, not fiduciary.
Dr Ayine added that although UniBank gave loans to related companies, this alone does not amount to a crime unless there is proof of dishonesty or personal benefit.
He said these legal reasons informed the state’s decision to discontinue the criminal case against Dr Duffour and other directors. However, he noted that civil cases being pursued by the bank’s receiver are still ongoing, and asset recovery remains possible.
The Attorney-General maintained that the UniBank case was never about theft or personal enrichment, despite public criticism, and said the matter highlights the limits of using criminal law to address business failure in the financial sector.
