..Of ECG’s inflated dollar exchange rate case

An Accra High Court, presided over by  Justice Ellen Lordina Serwaa Mireku, on Friday, July 5, 2024, dismissed an application brought by Fidelity Bank to strike out pleadings related to procurement abuses in Bright Simons’ statement of defense to the bank’s libel (defamation) suit.

The court’s decision, allows Simons to proceed with his counter-suit against the bank in the ongoing legal battle.

The dispute originated from statements made by Bright Simons on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), echoing claims by energy expert, Benjamin Boakye, regarding alleged “sweetheart” forex transactions between Fidelity Bank and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

 The state power company, had in a report to the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) Committee of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) previously under the Office of the Vice President, said it bought dollars as of last October at GH₵13.95, although the market rate at the time according to Bank of Ghana, hovered around GH₵11.5.

In response, Fidelity Bank, represented by Dominic Ayine, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolgatanga East, initiated a defamation suit against Bright Simons.

However, in an unexpected turn, Simons, not only defended his statements, but also counter-sued Fidelity Bank, arguing that the transactions in question violated the Public Procurement Act and other national policies and therefore Fidelity Bank should not be allowed by the Court to enjoy the profits from the transaction.

Simons, also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, highlighting the involvement of a senior Fidelity Bank executive who serves on the Board of ECG and is politically exposed.

Fidelity Bank, sought to exclude these procurement-related allegations from the case, arguing they were criminal matters unfit for a civil defamation trial.

However, the presiding Judge, disagreed with Fidelity’s stance, citing legal precedents to support Simons’ right to include these issues in his defense and file a public interest lawsuit in addition.

Justice Mireku, cited multiple cases to buttress her view that there is nothing legally wrong with Bright Simons’ approach to the case or his counter-suit against Fidelity Bank. After rejecting Fidelity’s application, she awarded costs of GH¢ 3,000 against the bank.

Bright Simons, is represented in the case by AudreyGrey Legal, Tax, and Professional Services Firm in Accra, while Fidelity Bank ,is represented by the chambers of Dominic Ayine, the NDC MP for Bolgatanga East.

Although, the Judge did not give further orders in the matter, the stage is set for a multifaceted legal battle between Fidelity Bank and Bright Simons.

 Both parties are now preparing to navigate not only the defamation suit, but also the complex allegations of legal breaches and conflicts of interest.

Background

Fidelity Bank sued Bright Simons of IMANI Africa on March 25, 2024, for posting a tweet in which he claimed that Fidelity sold dollars in a sweetheart deal to ECG that may have caused losses.

Bright Simons’ comments were based on an earlier tweet by Benjamin Boakye of ACEP that said that the rate the dollars was sold was 13.95 rather than the Bank of Ghana reference rate which was less than 11.5 around October 2023 when the deal happened.

Bright Simons entered appearance on March 28, 2024, and filed his statement of defense the month after. He is represented by Audrey Grey, a corporate law firm in Accra.

Fidelity Bank’s suit, which was amended later, alleged that Bright Simons tweet was false, misleading, products of his imagination, and were mischievously authored to disparage the bank.

In Bright Simons’ defence, he rejected all the claims of Fidelity Bank at an earlier hearing on May 20, 2024.

He insisted that the numbers used in his tweet and that of Benjamin Boakye came from ECG’s own financial department that was submitted to the Cash Waterfall Mechanism committee at the PURC.

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