Gifty Oware Gave Omnibus Transfer Authorisation – Banker

Gifty Oware-Mensah

 

Head of Consumer Finance at Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Gilbert Serbeh-Yeboah, has told a High Court in Accra yesterday that former Executive Deputy Director of National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, gave one omnibus authorisation for the transfer of funds.

According to him, the bank had an understanding with the accused person under an arrangement in dealing with over 10,000 National Service persons where she told officials of the bank that she will not be available all the time to give instructions for transfers.

“So, one omnibus instruction was issued under the 10,000 arrangement. However, the accused was always contacted on phone, and that instruction is in the possession of the bank,” the witness told the bank.

Mr. Serbeh-Yeboah, said this while under cross-examination by Gary Nimako Marfo, counsel for Gifty Oware-Mensah, who is accused of causing financial loss of GH¢6,956,157.47 by causing the state to pay the said amount as interest to the Agricultural Development Bank on a GH¢31,502,091.40 loan inappropriately authorised for Blocks of Life Consult, which she benefitted from.

 She has also been accused of stealing and laundering GH¢31,502,091.40 by transferring it from the NSA hire purchase escrow account with ADB to Blocks of Life Consult “for the purpose of disguising the illicit origin of the money, knowing it to be proceeds of crime.”

Mr. Marfo, in his cross-examination, questioned the witness on the existence of a transfer authorisation from Gifty Oware-Mensah for the transfer of funds from the NSA hire purchase account to the account of Blocks of Life Consult Limited.

Evidence before the court indicate that the first transfer to Blocks of Life Consult Limited was done on February 22, 2023 while the second transfer was made on March 2, 2023.

However, the letter from the accused allegedly authorising the transfer of funds was received by the bank on March 2, 2023, nine days after the first transfer had already been done.

Mr. Marfo, therefore, suggested to the witness that the first transfer dated February 22, 2023 was not done on the authorisation of Mrs. Oware-Mensah.

The witness, however, disagreed, indicating that there was no authorisation for each specific transfer but one omnibus and the accused was always contacted before the transfer.

Mr. Serbeh-Yeboah, in further explaining the issue, said the account is not a normal current account operated by customers, but rather a suspense account temporarily held for the purpose of this employer-based facility.

He indicated that at the time of this disbursement, the bank had delayed facility which started in October 2022, and the first transaction was a fraction of the total amount.

He said the payment was made because Gifty Oware-Mensah had “threatened to abandon this whole arrangement, and for fear of losing the whole request, which to us was profitable, we submitted GH¢193,300 which was within the limit of approval of the head of risk retail.”

He added that the accused was quickly informed that the facility was going to go through because “we secured partial approval and to secure the deal, we requested for a transfer instruction which she promised was going to come that same day. And based on that trust, GH¢193,841 was transferred with the assurance of transfer request.”

“The next day, we had approval of the bank’s credit committee for an amount of GH¢6,685,200 and the transfer instruction that was supposed to have come arrived on the third. That explains why you don’t see a specific letter of February 22, 2023,” Mr. Serbeh-Yeboah told the court.

“I’m putting it to you that there is no evidence before this court that the accused person was contacted by the bank before transfers were made to Blocks of Life Consult Limited,” the lawyer suggested.

“I had stated earlier how we communicated with the accused through mails, WhatsApp messages, letters and via telephone. And with the transfers, I said the accused was contacted via telephone,” the witness answered.

“I’m putting it to you that because no such emails, WhatsApp messages, telephone records exist between you, your bank and the accused person, you have been unable to provide any such evidence before this honourable court,” Mr. Marfo further suggested.

“My Lady, my answer was aside this omnibus authorisation we contacted the accused via telephone,” Mr. Serbeh-Yeboah answered.

“I’m further putting it to you that in normal banking practice such as the instant one, if exhibit D (authorisation letter) was a standing authorisation to affect past, present and future transactions, the said authorisation ought to have specially stated so,” Mr. Marfo suggested again.

The witness, in response, said “I’ve explained very well the circumstances for not having the transfer dated February 22, 2023. I have already said this was omnibus.”

Mr. Serbeh-Yeboah added that in banking, even if this was wrongly credited to the account, it is for the NSA, acting on behalf of the National Service persons, to have rejected liability for that transfer.

 

BY Gibril Abdul Razak

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