SONIAG COMPANY LIMITED & ANOTHER vs BOND SAVINGS & LOANS LTD. & ANOTHER

This is a Ruling on a Preliminary Legal Objection raised by the Claimant/Respondent against an application for an order to lift the veil of incorporation filed by the Plaintiffs/Judgement Creditors/Applicants (herein known as the Applicants).

The antecedents to this application is found in an Interpleader application filed by a Claimant: SafeBond Car Terminal Limited claiming ownership of Bond House, Meridian Road, Tema which has been attached in execution by the Registrar on behalf of the Plaintiffs. The Court had prior on given Judgment in favour of the Plaintiffs against the Defendant on 14th December, 2020. Since the Defendant failed to pay the Judgment Debt, the Plaintiffs had issued a Writ of FiFa and consequently attached in execution the aforesaid Head Office. After the parties had been ordered to file their respective Affidavits of Interest and Dispute, the Plaintiff applied for the veil of incorporation of four companies to be lifted being-; Bond Savings and Loans Limited, SafeBond Company Limited, SafeBond Car Terminal Limited and BondHouse Medical Center Limited.

The reason for this application is found in the Affidavit in Support filed by one Sonia Antwi on behalf of the Plaintiffs. Being that, a search conducted on the SafeBond Car Terminal Limited and Bond Savings and Loans revealed that all the Directors of SafeBond Car Terminals are present and or past Directors of the Defendant. Also, the two Shareholders of SafeBond Car Terminal Limited, acting through companies called SafeBond Company Limited and Kharis Services Limited are the majority Shareholders of the Defendant. Again, SafeBond Company Limited and all three Directors are also past Directors and or current Shareholders of the Defendant. Krobo Edusei Jnr. is the majority Shareholder of the BondHouse Medical Center Limited. The Applicants contend that the Defendant is hiding assets because the Financial Statement of the Defendant submitted to the Ghana Stock Exchange shows that the Defendant has GHC344,461,453 in assets, however garnishee proceedings against the Defendant realised less than GHC300,000.00. Consequently, Applicant believes that the Defendant keeps its monies under the names of other related companies and the operations of these four companies primarily are such that the same persons are hiding behind the corporate veil and using the companies as their alter ego to perpetuated fraud on the Plaintiffs and this Court. Defendant is using the said companies to hide its ass