First Fund customers threaten protest over locked-up cash

Aggrieved customers of First Fund, an investment scheme previously managed by the defunct First Banc Financial Services, are threatening to stage a protest if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fails to facilitate the release of their locked-up funds within two weeks.

More than 20,000 investors lament that six years after the fund manager’s licence was revoked, they remain unable to access their savings, estimated at over GHS170 million.

According to the investors, SEC has failed to act decisively despite appointing three successive fund managers to oversee disbursements.

TTL was initially mandated to manage the fund but failed to release any money. OctaneDC later took over, but its efforts also yielded no payments.

The current manager, SEM Capital Advisors, is still in the process of reconciling accounts before any payout can be made.

“If you take a critical look at the report issued by OctaneDC, it clearly identifies where some of our monies were invested. Yet the board of First Fund cannot account for them. More worrying is a commercial paper investment worth GHS36 million which remains unaccounted for,” said Johnny Kwabena Nketiah, co-convener of the group.

He warned that a public demonstration was imminent should SEC fail to act, describing the situation as a test of transparency and accountability in Ghana’s financial sector.

“Our customers desperately need their money. Letters written to SEC and the Board have yielded no response. The Board does not care about us, and no one knows where our money is, though we understand some funds are still in active accounts. The only language left is demonstration. If nothing changes in two weeks, we will hit the streets,” he stated.

The aggrieved customers further indicated plans to petition Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson to intervene.

They are also appealing to President John Dramani Mahama and the government to step in with urgent relief.

“There is no hope in sight, but we believe in the new SEC leadership and the Board chaired by Dr Adu Anane-Antwi. We are calling on government to take over the fund and bail us out so we can recover our money,” Mr Nketiah added.