Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has eaten the humble pie and issued an apology and retraction to businessman, Ibrahim Mahama, over details he captured in his latest book, ‘The President Ghana Never Got,’ concerning some supposed debts owed to a bank.
In the book, Manasseh Azure alluded that the businessman owed a huge sum to Merchant Bank (now Universal Merchant Bank, UMB), which contributed to its eventual collapse in 2013.
The claim, which was later challenged by Ibrahim Mahama, had the investigative journalist also responding to the businessman, insisting that the details captured in his book were not, as was being claimed, inaccurate.
What Manasseh Azure said in his book about Ibrahim Mahama:
In the book, Azure alleged that Ibrahim Mahama, the brother of former President John Dramani Mahama, was one of the major debtors of the now-defunct Merchant Bank, a claim that has since been strongly contested.
According to a letter from Ibrahim Mahama’s legal counsel, Bobby Banson Esq., the businessman has never been personally indebted to Merchant Bank or its successor, UMB Bank.
Instead, the letter clarifies that the loan in question was taken out by Engineers & Planners Company Limited, a separate legal entity from Mahama, and that the full loan amount of $28 million was paid off in February 2014.
The letter also highlights that despite this repayment, the new management of Merchant Bank (later UMB Bank) failed to report the settlement to the Credit Bureau Agencies and the Bank of Ghana.
This led Engineers & Planners to file a court action against UMB Bank in 2023, seeking declarations that the debt had been fully paid and that the bank’s claims of indebtedness were false.
“Ibrahim Mahama has never been indebted to Merchant Bank or its successor, UMB Bank. Indeed, our Client has never applied for or received any facility from the said Bank in his personal capacity or for his personal use.
“Engineers & Planners Company Limited, which is a separate legal entity from our Client, applied for and received a loan facility from Merchant Bank. In February 2014, the amount of $28million was paid by Engineers and Planners Company Ltd to Merchant Bank, in full and final settlement of the loan amount. A copy of the correspondence from Merchant Bank to this effect is attached as Annexure,” portions of the letter said.
