Ghanaian businessman and the CEO of Danadams Pharmaceuticals Limited, Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, is currently fighting to hold on to his numerous businesses after being hit with an alleged fraud and forgery scandal that could see him lose his properties.
The businessman is currently facing prosecution at the Criminal Court in Accra for allegedly perpetuating fraud and forgery in his dealings with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) which is headquartered in Lome, Togo.
Contained in several documents intercepted by GhanaWeb, Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, who is a former President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is said to have used dubious bank documents to obtain a multi-million-dollar loan which he has since failed to pay.
While admitting that he owes the bank and has plans to pay it back, Mr Adu-Gyamfi denies the claims of fraud.
In the next couple of days, an auctioneer is set to auction his properties after attachment and evaluations are done.
Some of the properties he is set to lose include his private residence, Danpong Medical Centre and Head Office of Danpong Health Group, both situated at the Spintex Road at Baatsona among others.
Already some movable properties including his private cars, and two ambulances belonging to Danpong Medical Centre have all been confiscated.
This is after the Commercial Division (6) of the High Court in Accra granted EBID a Writ of Fi Fa (a warrant of control) after persistent calls on Danadams and Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi to settle a judgment debt consequent upon terms of settlement on the basis of which the Court entered Consent Judgment on July 24, 2020, yielded no results.
Background
On May 21, 2013, EBID approved a loan facility of US$9,417,600.00 to Danadams to produce anti-retrovirus drugs for HIV/AIDS patients in the entire ECOWAS region.
The loan facility was secured after Dr Yaw Adu Gyamfi used some of his properties as collateral for the loan. He made available documents of his properties to EBID as collateral in the event of a default on the loan facility.
Conditions given to Dr Adu Gyamfi in order to secure the loan
An official of EBID who spoke to GhanaWeb said beyond providing collateral for the loan, there were two main conditions the bank gave the CEO of Danadams before the facility would be granted.
“Under the terms of the facility, Danadams was expressly required to open an escrow account with a reputable bank in Ghana to be funded with an amount of US$340,000.00 (representing one maturity in principal and interest) as a condition precedent for EBID’s disbursement of the facility.
… In order to induce EBID to make disbursement of the loan, Dr. Adu Gyamfi delivered to the Bank a letter dated July 31, 2014, purporting to emanate from the Royal Bank of Ghana, advising EBID of the opening of the escrow account and assuring EBID that the account had been funded with the initial amount of US$340,000.00 as stipulated in the Loan Agreement. This letter was later found to be forged,” the source alleged.
In addition, Dr. Adu Gyamfi also gave EBID officials a plethora of official documents, including customs documents, purporting to show that Danadams had pre-financed the purchase of the equipment from the Indian company in the total sum of $6,020,840.00 through swift transfers made through Royal Bank of Ghana. These customs documents also turned out to be forged.
Believing that the documents provided by Dr Adu Gyamfi were legitimate, EBID disbursed the first tranche to Danadams’ account with SG SSB Bank Ltd, Accra, the total sum of $6,020,840.00 on January 14, 2015, which Dr. Adu Gyamfi acknowledged by a letter dated April 15, 2015.
EBID’s due diligence and supervisory checks however uncovered grave revelations of alleged fraud and forgery which one source who spoke to GhanaWeb said were “at a level never witnessed by the bank in its over forty (40) years of operations in the sub-region, perpetuated by Danadams and its CEO, Dr. Adu Gyamfi.”
Alleged forgery and cloning of bank documents
A source close to the issue said a letter, purported to have been written by The Royal Bank of Ghana, confirming the opening and financing of the escrow account was an elaborate forgery created by cloning Royal Bank’s official letterhead and also forging the signatures of the Bank’s officials.
The escrow account (No.1410310748215), truly opened by Danadams with the Royal Bank, was not funded with the sum of $340,000.00 as the Royal Bank delivered to EBID the actual letter they issued to Danadams which was not delivered to EBID. The Royal Bank issued a letter dated May 11, 2016 to Dr Adu-Gyamfi disassociating itself from his fraudulent activities and threatened to take legal action to purge its image.
“Documents on Swift payments delivered to EBID by Dr. Adu Gyamfi as evidence of the purchase of equipment from the purported Indian Company were elaborate forgeries manufactured by him. Customs Declaration Forms delivered to EBID by Dr. Adu Gyamfi as evidence of the importation of the equipment were fake or forgeries,” our source added.
“Notwithstanding the fact that he had executed or created a legal mortgage over his properties to secure Danadam’s repayment obligations to EBID, Dr. Adu Gyamfi subsequently used the same property to secure Danadam’s repayment obligations to Royal Bank under a different facility in the sum of GH¢7 million from Royal Bank.
Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi diverted the proceeds of the EBID loan to other purposes other than for the purchase of the equipment, including paying off existing liabilities he and his company owed to SG-SSB Bank and other creditors.
As a result of these nefarious acts on the part of Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi which constituted serious fraud and gross violations of the provisions of the Loan Agreement, EBID took steps to cancel and call the facility. The Bank then referred the matter to its lawyers in Ghana to use the civil machinery to recover the loan, without prejudice to the pursuit of the criminal aspect of Dr. Adu Gyamfi’s serial fraud and forgery,” our source said.
On November 24, 2017, Dr. Adu Gyamfi forwarded a proposal to the EBID, apologising for his misdeeds and committed to paying the full amount to the Bank. The Bank responded and agreed to the terms and conditions of his proposals, however after making a total payment of nine hundred thousand United States Dollars (USD 900,000), EBID did not hear from him again.
Another source privy to the case who spoke to GhanaWeb said “ by his conduct, Dr. Adu Gyamfi has created an erroneous impression to EBID and the ECOWAS sub-region about Ghanaian businesses.”
Dr. Adu Gyamfi’s response
When GhanaWeb reached out to Dr. Adu-Gyamfi for his side of the story, he admitted to owing the bank but explains it was nothing more than a business deal gone wrong, adding that he was committed to paying the money.
Dr Adu-Gymafi explains that a multiplicity of factors, including a health scare he suffered plus the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic among others, threw a spanner in the works as far as the business deal was concerned.
Dr Adu Gyamfi provided GhanaWeb with a draft proposal sent by the Board of Danpong Medical Centre (one of his companies) and submitted to the court and officials of EBID on how it intends to offset the debt by 2027.
–Ghanaweb
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