RIGWORL INTERNATIONAL SERVICES v. SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA LIMITED
2018
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH (MRS.) JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT
Areas of Law
- Banking and Finance Law
- Contract Law
- Tort Law
- Evidence Law
2018
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
A Ghanaian company sued its bank after the bank debited its account and executed a US$15,000 transfer to Y.O. Salawu based on instructions purportedly issued via email. The company had indemnified only one official email address for payment instructions, yet the bank communicated with and provided the SWIFT copy of the transaction to a forged Gmail address. The bank insisted the transfer came from the indemnified address and cited prior transactions, but its documentary exhibits lacked critical details, conflicted with its own procedures, and failed to show genuine instructions from the authorized address. Applying the civil burden of proof, circumstantial evidence, and inference under the Evidence Act, the court found the bank acted on the forged address, breached its strict mandate obligations and professional duty of care, and ordered repayment of US$15,000 with prevailing interest, GHȼ20,000 damages for breach of contract, and GHȼ10,000 costs, declaring the debit unauthorized.
JUDGMENT
The Plaintiff, in the present suit, seeks the following reliefs against the Defendant;
a) A declaration that the Defendant was not entitled to debit the account with the amount on the email instruction from koabban.rigworld servicesltd@gmail.com.
b) The repayment of the sum of Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00) being the amount purportedly transferred by the email instruction.
c) Interest on the said sum at the contractual rate from April 28, 2016 up to date of actual and final payment.
d) Damages for breach of contract.
e) Costs including Legal Fees being 10% of the sum claimed in relief (b) above.
The Plaintiff’s case is that it is a Ghanaian registered company having its registered office at Number 11, Patrice Lumumba Street, Capital Place, Airport Residential Area, Accra. The Defendant, also registered and operating under the laws of Ghana, is a bank and engaged in the business of Universal Banking. The Plaintiff says that as an account holder of Defendant bank, it is mandated to instruct the Defendant to honour payment instructions via email. The email address as officially agreed between the Parties for such transactions is koabban@rigworldservicesltd.com (Indemnified Email Address)
On or about the 28th day of April, 2016, the Defendant honoured a transfer instruction purportedly issued by Plaintiff for the transfer of Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00) in favour of one Y.O. Salawu. As it turned out, the said transfer instruction, to the said Y.O. Salawu emanated from an unauthorized email address being koabban.rigworldservicesltd@gmail.com (Forged Email Address). Plaintiff avers that the said transfer was neither drawn nor authorized by it. Plaintiff contends further, that the Defendant has been negligent in effecting a transfer of Plaintiff’s funds from the forged email address. It particularized Defendant’s negligence as the Defendant’s failure to observe its duty of care to the Plaintiff which led to the Defendant honouring payment instructions from an email address other than that agreed upon by the Parties. Plaintiff says that it has suffered losses as a result of the unwarranted debit of its account by Defendant, following the unauthorized transfer.
The Defendant however, despite persistent calls on it to refund the said Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00) has failed or refused to do so hence the present suit. The Defendant denies Plaintiff’s claims. It maintains that th