Legal battles are exposing a web of financial deceit at the heart of Ghanaian company, Ibistek Limited.
The scandal, which has already entangled a major commercial bank and the national pension fund, shines a light on the murky dealings that characterized the previous Akufo-Addo administration.
The trouble centers on a brazen loan fraud. In the aftermath of the 2016 elections won by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ibistek, a company with links to the incoming government insiders, managed to secure a colossal $52 million loan from CalBank to build an off-dock container terminal at the port of Takoradi.
The deal was remarkable for its audacity: Ibistek presented no tangible collateral.
In a move that mirrors the infamous PDS scandal, the Ibistek project was later used as collateral for a separate loan, leaving CalBank holding the bag while the Ibistek collaborators secured shares without risking any of their own capital.
As the project crumbled under mismanagement and revenue dried up by 2023, the debt ballooned to over $100 million.
Facing a crisis that could trigger institutional collapse and criminal charges, CalBank insiders reportedly tried to bury the scandal. Political pressure was brought to bear, and the Bank of Ghana was allegedly discouraged from investigating the malpractice.
The scandal’s fallout was immediate and far-reaching. The state-owned Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), a major shareholder in CalBank, suffered significant financial losses.
When a new CalBank Managing Director uncovered the scheme, alerting both the Bank of Ghana and SSNIT, the fallout was swift. SSNIT’s Managing Director, Dr. John Ofori Tenkorang, was ousted in April 2024, a move seen by many as a calculated effort to sweep the affair under the rug.
Amid the chaos, an affidavit from one of Ibistek’s directors, lawyer Kwame Gyan, provides a rare window into the internal power struggle.
Gyan claims he was the driving force behind the company’s projects, alleging that his former partners, including Felix Nana Sackey, used their political connections to secure government contracts.
Gyan’s court filing paints a picture of betrayal and corruption, accusing his partners of using Ibistek’s name to secure contracts for their own private companies and misappropriating company funds.
He alleges that one of his partners misused company assets, including a forklift and premium hardwood, and even extorted a consultant for a $150,000 payoff. He also claims that former President Akufo-Addo himself intervened, asking him to withdraw a legal case to “avoid media intrusion.”
Despite the internal strife, CalBank is attempting to salvage the situation by selling the Tacotel terminal to a consortium of Ghanaian investors. While the sale may help rejuvenate the terminal, the larger questions of accountability remain.
With the $100 million debt still a point of contention and Ibistek’s directors reportedly obstructing the sale, the scandal is far from over.
