Beige boss gets GHC200 M bail – pleads not guilty to theft, money laundering

Michael Nyinaku, the Chief Executive of the embattled Beige Bank, on Tuesday told a High Court in Accra he is completely innocent of the charges of theft, money laundering slapped on him.

The Court granted him a  bail of GHC200 million and asked that he hands over his travelling passport and presents three sureties, of which two are to be justified with documents of landed property worth the bail bond.

The court, presided over by Her Ladyship Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey, further ordered that the valuation of the properties is to be done by a government valuation body or a land valuation division of the Lands Commission.

Mr. Nyinaku appeared in court in person and had this calm confident demeanor.

His lawyer, Addo Tuah, in his plea for bail argued that the accused was never a flight risk and would always appear in court when needed.

Lawyer Tuah said his client, Michael Nyinaku, since 2015, has fully co-operated with all investigative bodies that have requested his presence and he has showed up in person without fail.

The plea for bail was not opposed by the Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah.

The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Alfred Tuah Yeboah, did not oppose to the bail.

The case was adjourned to December 22 for case management conference to commence.

Between now and then, Mr. Nyinaku is to report himself to the police on Mondays and Fridays.

Background

The charge sheet and brief facts of the case were filed at the registry of the Criminal High Court on Wednesday 2 November 2022.

The documentation was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa.

The charges

The first nine of the 44 counts relate to stealing contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).

Counts ten to 34 allege fraudulent breach of trust contrary to Section 128 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), and counts 35 to 43 are on money laundering contrary to Section 1(1)(c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020 (Act 1044).

In all, according to the charge sheet, over GHC2.1 billion has been stolen, or laundered and or lost through the offence of fraudulent breach of trust by the accused, Michael Nyinaku.

Beige Bank

The Beige Bank, in 2007, was officially launched after it had successfully operated as a micro finance and then a savings and loans for a period of almost a decade.

During that historic ceremony, Mike Nyinaku, said the progression from a savings and loans company to a bank will sustain the wind of change that his blowing in the entrepreneurship space.

“There’s a wind blowing. It’s a wind of change. It’s very contagious and stimulating. This wind is carrying with it a feeling of hope, self-belief and somehow an aura of patriotism. Suddenly people of Ghanaian descent are thinking big and global in spite of the obvious lack of resources.

“Let’s take advantage of this wind and galvanise Ghanaians into action and endeavour. Keeping in mind, however, that many of these entrepreneurial adventures may fail but I believe that if one out of every 10 succeeds, the wheels of prosperity would gradually be turning in our favour, one business at a time,” he said.

BEIGE was a Ghanaian owned successful services provider with subsidiaries providing Banking, Pensions, Insurance & Funds Management Services. Beyond the provision of basic financial intermediation services BEIGE has a private equity arm that actively invests in and promotes the development of small and medium-sized enterprises of African origin including start-ups.

The BEIGE Bank – a flagship subsidiary of BEIGE formerly known as BEIGE Capital Savings and Loans, was a leading provider of retail banking services to the informal sector of Ghana since 2014. Together with its direct subsidiaries and other investee affiliates, BEIGE provided direct employment to about 5,000 individuals and serves a clientele base of about 1million.

The BEIGE Foundation (TBF), another initiative of Mike Nyinaku, was established on the principles of integrity and self-belief, to promote youth and social development through a variety of sponsored programs implemented across Ghana.

Notable amongst the initiatives of BF was the Youth Excellence League (YEL, is a life skills development program that recognizes and celebrates youth who demonstrate exceptional talent.

As Chief Finance Officer for OICI-GH – a US-based NGO; Michael Nyinaku had responsibility for providing financial planning, financial management, capacity building and technical advice on multiple community development programs that were implemented by the organization in several locations in Ghana and across West Africa.

Mike served OICI – Ghana between 2001 and 2008. Prior to this he trained for 2 years as a finance and audit specialist with Deloitte & Touché.

An award-winning entrepreneur highly regarded as one of Ghana’s emerging business leaders, Mike has demonstrated throughout his career, profound intellectual capacity in matters relating to finance as well as continuous leadership in business excellence.

In 2012 at the national youth awards ceremony, Mike was recognized by the then president of Ghana as both the youth personality for finance and the ultimate youth personality of Ghana, all in recognition of his selfless efforts at business development and employment creation.

In 2016 he was recognized as the 6th most influential person in Ghana and in 2017 he again has been recognized as the most influential young business leader in Ghana. Mike’s ambition is to continue pursuing entrepreneurial aspirations as a means of influencing and inspiring a new breed of leaders from Africa.