Chairman of the Tobinco Group of Companies, Dr Samuel Amo Tobbin, has said that his vindication in the longstanding legal dispute with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), dating back to 2019, takes precedence over the judgment debt awarded to him by the court.
His comment comes after the High Court on July 29, 2024, ordered the FDA to pay a total of GH¢93,905,760.79 million in compensation for the unlawful destruction of the company’s pharmaceutical products.
These products, which had not expired, were seized by the FDA in 2014 on the grounds that they were allegedly unsafe for consumption.
Speaking on the development, Dr. Tobbin stressed the significance of his vindication for his business, family, and personal life.
“The total damage we demanded from the court was $18 million to $ 20 million. This is what the court gave us [GH¢93,905,760.79 million]. The joy I have in me is my name; and on the internet, we have bad names and bad reputations that I imported fake drugs and all that, which is on the internet now. And it’s my prayer that this good thing [vindication] will clean the past.
“So that tomorrow, my descendants will not come and somebody will tell them that your daddy imported fake products and all that,” he said.
When asked if his vindication is more important than the judgment debt, he said, “More important, if not. I would have gone to the Appeal Court and appealed for what they had issued to us. I said $18 million to $20 million, and calculate by GHC15.5 [dollar rate], plus interests.
“What happened was that when they calculated, they gave us GHC24 million and an additional 500 and something thousand and 60 something thousand [GH¢24,003,157.20, GH¢511,414.35 for demurrage and GH¢67,300, for Bonded warehouse]. This is what the court offered us. This one that the court offered us, we had to work it out 8 years ago. So the 8 years ago interest is what has increased to 90 something [GH¢93,905,760.79].”
Background
This ruling, delivered by Her Ladyship Audrey Kocuvie-Tay contradicts claims made by the former Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni.
This was contained in a statement released by TPL on Sunday, August 11.
The legal battle began on July 19, 2019, when Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited filed a lawsuit against the FDA, accusing the authority of abusing its statutory powers and duties.
According to the company, between September and December 2013, Dr Kwabena Opuni targeted it under the pretence that it was importing fake drugs.
The FDA proceeded to lock Tobinco’s warehouses nationwide, leading to significant embarrassment for the company and its chairman.
The regulator also disposed of Tobinco’s products, resulting in substantial financial losses as the products expired rapidly.
Additionally, the FDA banned Bliss GVS Pharma Limited, Tobinco’s principal business partner at the time, from exporting drugs to Ghana. This ban, coupled with the labelling of Tobinco’s drugs as fake, led to the confiscation of the company’s products from customers.
After a decade-long legal struggle, the court has ruled that it was unlawful for the FDA to stop Tobinco from selling its products.