… SIC Life Savings and Loans’ estimated financial loss rises to GH¢27m
The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) yesterday granted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame, John Darko, “enquiry bail” after he honoured an invitation to assist investigations into an alleged criminal conspiracy linked to SIC Savings and Loans Company Limited.
The development comes as investigators probe an alleged GH¢9.85 million financial loss involving the Manhyia South MP, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, in connection with a controversial settlement agreement that reduced a judgment debt owed to SIC Life Savings and Loans from approximately GH¢14.85 million to GH¢5 million.
The case involves three lawyers, including Amma Frimpomaa Dwumah, the former Managing Director of SIC Life Savings and Loans, and relates to an equity investment in Equity Savings and Loans Limited.
A settlement agreement involving SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited, Equity Savings and Loans Limited and Eco Swiss Investment Limited, cited by The Herald, indicates that a judgment debt of GH¢14.85 million owed by Equity Savings and Loans was reduced to GH¢5 million, resulting in an alleged financial loss of GH¢9.85 million.
In a news release dated Tuesday, October 13, 2026, EOCO said the ongoing investigation had resulted in a revised estimated financial loss of approximately GH¢27 million to the financial institution.
According to the Office, Mr Darko, a lawyer, was invited to assist investigators with information relevant to the matter.
The MP honoured the invitation and reported to EOCO at exactly 12 noon on Tuesday, October 13.
EOCO described him as respectful, co-operative and fully responsive throughout the investigative process.
It said the decision to grant him enquiry bail took into consideration the circumstances of the case, the applicable law and his level of co-operation with investigators.
The Office also disclosed that Mrs Dwumah had honoured its invitation and was co-operating with investigators.
EOCO stressed that investigations were progressing steadily in accordance with its case theory. It cautioned, however, that the investigation remained active and that no conclusion had been reached regarding the culpability or otherwise of any person connected to the matter.
The granting of enquiry bail to Mr Darko does not, in itself, establish wrongdoing on his part.
The controversial settlement agreement was dated July 18, 2024, and was filed at the Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra in connection with Suit No. CM/RPC/0795/2020, in which Mr Awuah acted as a lawyer for SIC Life Savings and Loans.
Under the agreement, Eco Swiss Investment Limited, a third party that entered the proceedings as an interpleader, agreed to pay SIC Life, the judgment creditor, GH¢5 million in full and final settlement of a judgment debt of approximately GH¢14.85 million owed by Equity Savings and Loans.
The arrangement followed proceedings relating to the enforcement of the judgment against more than 31 acres of land at Oyibi, in the Greater Accra Region.
The agreement also required Eco Swiss, identified as the claimant, to pay legal fees equivalent to 15 per cent of the outstanding judgment debt, in addition to the settlement sum and the auctioneer’s costs arising from execution activities already undertaken.
The settlement agreement stated that SIC Life had obtained judgment against Equity Savings and Loans on July 18, 2022, following a suit registered as CM/RPC/0795/2020.
According to the document, the judgment debt stood at GH¢14,850,776.14 following a revised entry of judgment filed by SIC Life on July 24, 2024.
The debt was being enforced against a parcel of land measuring approximately 31.93 acres at Adamorobe/Oyibi, near Kas Valley Estate in the Greater Accra Region.
The property had been attached by the Deputy Sheriff of the High Court in execution of the judgment.
Eco Swiss, which claimed to have entered into a purchase agreement with Equity Savings and Loans in respect of the land, filed a notice of claim against the attachment on July 17, 2024.
SIC Life subsequently filed a notice disputing the claim on August 2, 2024.
The parties said they had agreed to resolve the dispute amicably and proceeded to execute the settlement terms.
However, questions have been raised about whether the settlement received the necessary approval from SIC Life’s board of directors, given the company’s state-owned status, and the implications of any failure to obtain such approval.
The company’s then-Managing Director, Mrs Dwumah, a lawyer, reportedly awarded the legal brief to Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners, the law firm associated with Mr Awuah.
The transaction has raised questions about compliance with the applicable financial approval threshold, reportedly set at GH¢150,000.
Mrs Dwumah submitted her resignation in May 2024, effective July 31, 2024. By the time she left office, the settlement agreement had taken effect.
EOCO is investigating an alleged GH¢1 million kickback payment to her from Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners.
Mr Awuah is also alleged to have received approximately GH¢2.2 million in legal fees from Eco Swiss after the debt owed to SIC Life was reduced from about GH¢14.85 million to GH¢5 million.
Questions have also been raised about how land reportedly valued at approximately GH¢25 million became the subject of a settlement that left SIC Life with only GH¢5 million, despite the outstanding judgment debt of nearly GH¢14.85 million.
The Herald understands that investigators are examining several payments allegedly connected to the transaction. These include GH¢280,000 in legal fees paid by SIC Life to Mr Awuah and his law firm, GH¢600,000 allegedly received from Equity Savings and Loans, and approximately GH¢2.2 million allegedly paid by Eco Swiss.
Under the agreement, Eco Swiss was required to pay the GH¢5 million settlement sum in five instalments of GH¢1 million each.
The first instalment was due immediately upon execution of the agreement, while the remaining payments were scheduled for December 31, 2024, February 28, 2025, April 30, 2025, and May 31, 2025.
The agreement further required Eco Swiss to pay legal fees calculated at 15 per cent of the outstanding judgment debt, as reflected in the entry of judgment, by October 31, 2024.
However, sources have told The Herald that the payment was not made until sometime in 2025, with payments reportedly beginning shortly after the December 2024 general election, which the NPP lost.
The agreement also made Eco Swiss responsible for the auctioneer’s costs arising from execution activities already undertaken. It remains unclear whether those costs were paid.
A default clause provided that if Eco Swiss failed to fulfil its obligations, SIC Life could resume the execution process under the court’s order of June 14, 2024, which set a reserved price for the property.
SIC Life would then be entitled to enforce the judgment to recover the outstanding amount of GH¢14,850,776.14, less any sums already paid.
The settlement agreement was intended to be filed for adoption by the court as a consent judgment in respect of Eco Swiss’s notice of claim.
It was signed on behalf of SIC Life by Mrs Dwumah, with Mr Awuah signing as the judgment creditor’s lawyer. Prince Oduro Williams signed for Eco Swiss, while Simon Animley signed as its lawyer.
A separate invoice dated April 30, 2020, issued by Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners to SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited, also features among the documents reviewed by The Herald.
The invoice identifies Mr Awuah as the service provider and concerns professional fees and a deposit on account for legal proceedings against Equity Savings and Loans to recover a debt of GH¢6,301,018.76.
It lists professional fees of GH¢189,030.56, Value Added Tax and National Health Insurance Levy of GH¢33,080.35, and a deposit on account of GH¢63,010.19.
The total amount invoiced was GH¢285,121.10.
The invoice predates the July 2024 settlement agreement by more than four years and relates to a stated debt of approximately GH¢6.3 million, rather than the GH¢14.85 million judgment debt cited in the settlement document.
Mr Awuah was granted GH¢10 million bail by the High Court in Accra on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
The court directed him to provide two sureties, identified as the MPs for Bosome Freho and Effia, and ordered him to deposit his passport with the court registry.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, causing the state a financial loss of GH¢9.85 million, and money laundering, arising from alleged financial transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans.
The court was presided over by Justice Charity Akosua Asem, a Court of Appeal judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge.
It also directed Mr Awuah to make himself available to EOCO whenever required for investigations.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, did not oppose bail but urged the court to impose conditions that would ensure the accused remained available to investigators and the court.
Dr Srem-Sai told the court that EOCO had made several attempts to secure Mr Awuah’s attendance during the investigation.
Counsel for the MP, Samuel Atta Akyea, argued that his client was not a flight risk and was unlikely to interfere with investigations.
The court directed the prosecution to file its disclosures by October 22, 2026, ahead of a Case Management Conference scheduled for November 2, 2026.
The investigation has also brought Mr Darko into focus because of his reported links to the ownership of Equity Savings and Loans Limited, the company whose indebtedness to SIC Life lies at the centre of the investigation.
EOCO’s latest statement indicates that the investigation remains ongoing, with the estimated financial loss to SIC Savings and Loans Company Limited now put at approximately GH¢27 million.
