EOCO Detains Rev. Fitz Odonkor Over Capital Bank Collapse

A former Chief Executive Director of the now-defunct Capital Bank, Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, has been detained by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) over the collapse of the bank.

According to Citi News sources, Rev. Odonkor was detained after he was invited by the financial crime investigation outfit.

Rev. Odonkor and two other directors of the bank, Pastor Mensa Otabil, Founder of the International Central Gospel Church, ICGC, and William Ato Essien, were all invited to answer questions for their roles in the bank’s collapse.

In August 2017, Capital Bank and UT Bank collapsed because of their inability to turn around their negative capital adequacy position and they were subsequently taken over by GCB Bank.

The liabilities of the two banks, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG), overwhelmed their assets, leaving the central bank with no option but to undertake a purchase and assumption transaction, as the least costly method of dealing with a collapse.

Probe into top management

At the end of March 2018, the former Directors of Capital Bank and UT Bank were invited by EOCO to answer for their roles in the collapses of the banks.

This followed the findings of an investigative report on the collapse of the bank which was submitted to the BoG.

Prior to the summons by EOCO, the Second-Deputy Governor of the BoG, Elsie Awadzie, had assured that the activities of the top officials of the two banks were under scrutiny.

This was in response to concerns the probe into the two collapsed banks’ management had stalled.

According to her, once the takeover of the two banks was confirmed, the BoG focused on securing the assets of the banks.

The BoG said it would sanction shareholders, directors, and key a management personnel who are found to be culpable, whose activities led to the collapse of the two banks.

It is unclear if the former directors of the defunct UT Bank have appeared before the EOCO after the summons.