Joe Ghartey-led Parliamentary Committee continues probe into customers’ locked funds at Blackshield Capital Ltd
The Special Committee of Parliament, chaired by Hon. Joe Ghartey, continued its inquiry into matters concerning the locked-up funds of customers of Blackshield Capital Ltd (formerly Gold Coast Fund Management Ltd) during the recent financial clean-up exercise.
Evidence was presented by the Registrar of Companies and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both institutions stated that the court process challenging the liquidation of Blackshield Company Ltd had hindered their ability to address the customers’ concerns. They explained that Blackshield had initiated a court process, preventing the Official Liquidator from proceeding.
The Committee requested the Official Liquidator to provide and submit all documents related to the court process at the next Committee sitting.
The Committee also expressed concern about the apparent slow pace of law development to address contemporary challenges.
The sluggish progress of law reform was particularly lamented at a time of rapid evolution in the financial sector and the introduction of new products such as digital currencies like Bitcoins.
This concern arose after the Registrar of Companies indicated that the current law on liquidation, the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act, 2020 (Act 1015), represented a significant improvement over the Bodies Corporate (Official Liquidation) Act passed in 1963. The Committee questioned why it had taken so many years for the previous law to be repealed.
In response, the Registrar of Companies, Mrs Jemima Oware, recounted the role of the Committee Chairman, Hon. Joe Ghartey, in the development and review of various company laws during his tenure as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice between 2006 and 2009. She also acknowledged the contribution of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA).
The sitting will reconvene today, March 4, 2024.
Other members of the Committee include Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, Kwesi Ameyaw-Chiremeh, Gizella Tetteh Agbotui, and Dr. Benjamin Yeboah Sekyere.