Ghana’s Minority in Parliament has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States of America to probe the West Africa country’s $2.25 billion bond issued in April.
The US regulatory body will probe the bond issuance in which a US registered company – Franklin Templeton purchased 95 per cent of the 15-year and 7-year bonds.
The SEC will primarily be investigating suspected conflict of interest and insider trading which are violations of US law by Mr Trevor G. Trefgarne, who is a Director of Franklin Templeton and a Board Chairman of Enterprise Group – a company owned and founded by Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
The Minority’s complaint was filed with the Enforcement Division of the SEC in Washington DC on 1 May 2017 by Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on behalf of the group.
In a response, the SEC thanked the Minority for the fruitful engagement and provided a reference number for the case as: TCR1493656314549.
A statement signed by Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu said the Minority had also observed the interest shown in the matter by Ghana’s Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) after receiving a petition from a private citizen and assured Ghanaians that the investigation being conducted by the United States’ regulatory body will not conflict nor undermine CHRAJ’s investigation.
“The Minority takes this opportunity to re-emphasise our commitment and cooperation in assisting with both investigations in any way we can in the supreme national interests of Ghana and the United States of America,” the statement added.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
