Aggrieved customers of collapsed Gold Coast Fund Management Company say they have given the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a three-day ultimatum to pay their locked-up funds.

The defunct company, which operated under the registered name, Black Shield Capital Limited had over 55,000 customers whose funds were locked up before the regulator revoked its license. 

According to the convener of the group, Charles Nyame their members will do everything legally possible to ensure their monies are released to them.

Speaking to JoyNews at day one of the group’s planned three-day picketing at the premises of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Nyame called on the government and the Ministry of Finance to investigate the matter.

He stated that the SEC has been misinforming the public on payment schedules even though Parliament has approved GH¢5 billion to be disbursed to customers who were affected by the financial sector clean-up exercise.

“This condition is killing people and this administration says there is nothing they can do about the death of the pensioners. Pensioners who have worked hard to save this nation with their sweat and blood.They have made their monies, they have put it down for the future and if a government policy- this company didn’t collapse by itself, Gold Coast Fund Management Company was solvent until the Akufo-Addo government cast it with the financial clean-up exercise.

“It was a policy by government which was preluded with a lot of assurances by government that it was doing the exercise to protect the investments of investors and here we are, five years on,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Convenor of the Pension Bondholders Association, Dr Adu Anane Antwi says the government has failed to respond to their notice to picket at the Finance Ministry on Monday if their due coupons are not honoured.

“We have duly written to the police and we are due to resume our picketing on Monday, May 8. The government is the issuer. If you are an issuer, you plan your cashflow in such a way that, it meets the coupon and the principal payment.

“And if government hasn’t gotten any money at all, pension bond market is still available, government can borrow to pay our coupons. This is life and death,” he said.