‘Ibrahim Mahama’s bank accounts not closed’
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Mr Sam George, has said the bank accounts on which Ibrahim Mahama had issued cheques to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) were not closed, as claimed by the authority.
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According to him, the accounts might have been dormant.
The MP has been speaking on behalf of former President John Mahama’s brother since news about Ibrahim’s indebtedness to the GRA broke.
Two companies, Holman Builders and MBG LTD, belonging to Mr Mahama are said to owe the GRA more than GH¢10 million in import duties.
Indebtedness
According to the GRA, Holman Builders owed GH¢3.71 million as of December 2015, while MBG Ltd owed GH¢13.15 million in duties as of December 2016.
Ibrahim's companies were contracted, under the Mahama government, to carry out various projects, including the clearing of a field to house the AMERI power plant and the construction of some roads in certain parts of the country.
He is said to have issued 44 different cheques for the payment of import duties on heavy-duty which allegedly bounced.
The GRA said the banks returned the cheques with notes indicating that the accounts had been closed.
Hitches
But Mr George said there might have been some hitches in the process and disagreed with the assertion that the businessman had issued the cheques knowing that the accounts were closed.
“As far as I am aware, MBG and Holman Builders did not issue any cheques on any closed accounts…. It is one thing for an account to be dormant; it is another for it to be closed.
“In further engagements with the GRA, we should get further and better particulars on whether the accounts were dormant or closed because Engineers and Planners has not issued cheques for closed accounts. That I can state on authority,” he added.
He explained that like any bank account, once it had not been serviced consistently for a period, it would need to be reactivated before transactions were effective.
“You may have funds in that account and issue a cheque, but because you’ve not been active on that account for six months or beyond, you send a cheque and it will not be honoured because that account has been closed,” he added.
Engage bankers
Mr George said the GRA must engage with Ibrahim’s bankers to clarify the true state of the accounts, insisting that the businessman would not issue cheques on accounts that had been closed.
He said although there were some hitches, the two companies were committed to ensuring that the relationship between them and GRA was not marred.
EOCO’s involvement
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has accused Mr Mahama of financial malfeasance.
The office said the businessman had issued the cheques, knowing fully well that they could not be honoured.
But Mr George was not pleased with EOCO’s involvement in the issue and the subsequent accusations of fraud.
“That is a matter that I do not believe is in the ambit of EOCO. The office is not vested with the powers to determine that. It is only a court of competent jurisdiction that is vested with the powers to determine if any individual or corporate entity has acted in a manner that you can term fraudulent,” he said.