Hejis Micro Finance CEO denies Owing Depositors at the Time of License Revocation by the BoG

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hejis Micro Finance, Henry Opoku-Ware, has firmly denied allegations that his company owed any depositors when the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked its license.

Opoku-Ware revealed that Hejis Micro Finance was operating five branches in Kumasi and Accra, with the head office situated at Mataheko, a property he personally owned.

“The storey building I was operating in as the headquarters is my own property, which was giving me an advantage. I can say on authority, I did not owe any depositor,” he stated.

Despite providing approximately two million cedis in loans, Opoku-Ware claims he was not given the opportunity to recover the funds before the license was revoked.

“My lawyers were asked to discontinue pursuing my monies in court because the Bank of Ghana had revoked my license. People owe me around two million Ghana Cedis as we speak, but the receiver doesn’t even know where my office is,” he lamented.

A staunch member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who once contested for the Bekwai parliamentary seat, Opoku-Ware says he has been left in financial limbo for the past five years, with his money locked up.

Speaking on Atinka FM’s “Simpieso,” programme hosted by Nana Owoahene Acheampong, Opoku-Ware recounted his contributions to the microfinance sector.

“I was helpful to the Bank of Ghana when they were enacting laws to govern our activities. They came to my office one day to inform me that I was doing well and owed nobody, but I should stop giving out loans and focus on retrieving the money I had already lent. To my utter surprise, I saw on social media that Hejis Micro Finance’s license had been revoked.”

Opoku-Ware expressed his frustration and distress over the situation, noting that some of his colleagues in the microfinance sector had died as a result of what he described as “inhumane acts” by the authorities.

“My money is locked, and I have no one to speak to. I tried pursuing it in the court of law, but all efforts have proved futile.”

It would be recalled that, in 2019, the Bank of Ghana revoked the licenses of 192 insolvent microfinance companies, in addition to the licenses of another 155 insolvent microfinance companies that had already ceased operations.

By Nana Owoahene Acheampong

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