The Kwahu Abenehene, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, has resigned as the Board Chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC over allegations of improper conduct.
The resignation, which took effect last Friday, followed a directive by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) for him to step down due to the irreparable damage done to ADB’s image.
This was after the Director and shareholder of Prabhat Trading LTD, Collins Darkwa Aboagye, petitioned the Presidency to help him retrieve a GH¢2.406 million debt from the board chairman.
The Presidency in reaction to the petition filed in September this year, wrote to Daasebre Agyapong on October 4, 2024 to ask for comments within seven days of receipt of the letter.
The central bank , in reference to the petition, directed the chief to immediately hand over in accordance with Section 103(2)(d) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
“Your continued holding of office as director of the ADB has become untenable due to the irreparable damage these events have caused the image of the bank,” the BoG letter dated October 10, 2024 said.
In a petition dated September 12, 2024, addressed to the President, the businessman, Mr Aboagye, detailed a complex loan issue involving ADB bank and its board chairman, Daasebre Agyepong.
According to the petition, in 2022, Mr Aboagye sought assistance from Daasebre Agyepong to secure a loan for his company, Prabhat Trading LTD after the ADB loan he applied for in 2021 was delaying.
Daasebre Agyepong in the presence of another chief, allegedly agreed to facilitate the loan in exchange for GH¢50,000 and a promise of a portion of the approved loan amount.
Subsequently, ADB approved a GH¢12 million facility for Prabhat Trading LTD.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Daasebre Agyepong reportedly began demanding a substantial loan from Mr Aboagye.
Under mounting pressure, Mr Aboagye claims he transferred GH¢2 million to Daasebre Agyepong on July 7, 2023, with the understanding it would be repaid within two weeks.
The petition states that Daasebre Agyepong failed to honour this repayment agreement.
Despite repeated attempts to recover the funds, Mr Aboagye reports that only $20,000 was returned through Daasebre Agyepong’s driver.
“Since then all efforts to reach out to Daasebre to repay the balance yielded no results as he refused to pick up my calls nor respond to my messages. On a few occasions that I used other numbers to call him, all he said was that I should be careful,” the petition said.
Aside from the recovery of the outstanding amount of GH¢2.406 million plus accrued interest, Mr Aboagye requested protection from potential intimidation by Daasebre Agyepong, citing concerns about the board chairman’s influential position
BY TIMES REPORTER
