Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has formally submitted a petition to Parliament addressing the protracted delay in disbursing funds to 61,000 customers of Blackshield Capital Limited, previously known as Gold Coast Fund Management (GCFM) owned by Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom.

Ayariga presented the petition on behalf of aggrieved members, including Charles Nyame (convenor), Bernard Agyekum, Nathaniel Mensah, David Opoku, and Rosemond Mensah Grunitzky, representing the organisation known as Aggrieved Customers of Defunct Gold Coast Fund Management.

The primary objectives of the petition are to prompt Parliament to investigate the reasons behind the government's failure to fulfill its obligation to pay the customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management and to compel the government to disburse the investments since Parliament approved the budget.

Gold Coast Fund Management, a duly registered and accredited fund management company regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission of Ghana, faced financial challenges following the government's decision to carry out a financial sector cleanup exercise in 2018.

The petitioners, whose funds amount to approximately GHC5 billion, saw their investments locked up in the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management. After successfully submitting and validating their claims through Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PWC) in the aftermath of the financial sector cleanup exercise, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) allocated GHC8 billion for total payment of claims from all 47 defunct fund management companies.

Parliament approved funds for the Financial Sector Cleanup Exercise, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning publicly reported that GHC25 billion had been expended in completing the exercise. This amount included the GHC8.6 billion intended to settle claims of investors in the 47 defunct fund management companies, including Gold Coast Fund Management.

However, Mr Ayariga highlighted in the petition that individual members of the petitioners' association with investments exceeding GH¢50,000 have not received the full remainder of their money. The government disbursed only GH¢50,000 to each owed individual in 2020. Many affected association members, who had invested their retirement benefits in the fund, are now facing destitution, with some having passed away due to an inability to afford critical medical care.

In response to the continued delay, the aggrieved customers of Gold Coast Fund Management plan to stage a protest at the Ministry of Finance on November 28, 2023, to draw attention to their plight and demand timely action.