UT Bank co-founder Prince Kofi Amoabeng says he is broke.

The CEO of the now-defunct bank told national broadcaster GTV that he lost all his wealth when the bank’s licence was revoked by the Bank of Ghana in 2017.

“I don’t have wealth, I’m broke and Ghanaians (those who don’t like people who progress) should be happy [about that],” Mr Amoabeng told Kafui Dey.

“And, it doesn’t make a difference because when I was whatever I was: Johnny Walker giant and CEO, I wore one shoe, I had one watch; this same watch – I remember to wear it every day – so, now, I still wear the same one [pair of] shoes and one watch, so, for me, there’s no difference,” he noted.

“But Ghanaians,” he observed, “tend to think I’ve got some wealth stashed somewhere because they are putting themselves in my shoes: they think if they were like me, if they had owned a bank then they would have a lot of money outside but my wealth was in the bank and in the company, so, while the company and the bank were doing very well, I was worth a lot of money but the bank went through losses and so on and so forth, therefore, my capital went with the bank. I think it’s not difficult to understand.”

Mr Amoabeng, however, said: “At least, to live to the next day, I get my pension which is now not worth too much and I have what I need to go by.”

In October last year, Mr Amoabeng expressed gratitude to businessman and philanthropist Seidu Agongo for being the only Ghanaian who offered to assist him after a selfie of him wearing a scruffy beard with a sad face went viral on social media and got Ghanaians rumouring that he was now a pauper on the verge of death following the collapse of his bank.

Speaking to Nana Otu Darko on CTV’s breakfast show, Dwabre Mu, on Tuesday, 4 October 2022, Mr Amoabeng said the only reason he accepted an invitation to appear on the show was because the station belonged to Mr Agongo’s Class Media Group (CMG).

“Actually, the reason why I couldn’t say no to your invitation was because of his [Seidu Agongo’s] personality,” Mr Amoabeng told Nana Otu Darko, adding: “I’ve never set eyes on him but at some point in time, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I started wearing this beard and I took a picture of myself and I posted it on [social media] and that set tongues wagging that ‘I was on the verge of death’, ‘I’m now a pauper’, but the boss of this place [CMG], Seidu Agongo, sent me a WhatsApp message that if I’m in difficulty, I should send him my account number for him to give me some money.”

“Of course, I didn’t pursue it but I’m ever so grateful that, at least, one Ghanaian thought that: 'Instead of laughing at him, let me help',” he noted.