Minority Unearths �Damning� Rot Over Merbank/Fortiz Deal

The Minority in Ghana�s Parliament says it has uncovered �damning� rot in connection with the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Private Equity Fund. Ninety percent of the Bank was sold to Fortiz for US$90 million. Anti-graft campaigner and Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, Andrew Awuni and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) raised concerns about the sale. Mr Awuni is challenging the sale in court. Awuni, who took the action in his capacity as a Ghanaian contributor to the Social Security and National Insurance Fund (SSNIT), said: �We have seen the SHARE PURCHASE and SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT and can tell Ghanaians that the Merchant Bank Sale is more of a dash than a sale.� SSNIT, through a press statement, said it was satisfied with the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz because their proposal was the best among the other bidders which included the second largest bank in South Africa - First Rand. Mr Awuni argued strongly that Fortiz were registered just about five months ago before the sale and therefore unfit to buy Merchant Bank since they had no proven track record in the banking industry. According to the Minority, its own investigations into the deal have unearthed tonnes of rot which it intends bringing to the public domain.