The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by businessman Nana Kwame Bediako (alias Cheddar) seeking to restrain the enforcement of a $14.9 million judgment obtained by UK-based Cola Holdings Limited, awarding costs of GH¢20,000 against him.

The application, filed by lawyer Bobby Banson, sought to prevent Cola Holdings from enforcing the English High Court judgment against Mr Bediako personally pending the determination of an appeal against the refusal to set aside registration of the judgment in Ghana.

Justice Doris Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe of the Commercial Division dismissed the application on July 27, 2026.

The judgment, dated January 23, 2025, was obtained by Cola Holdings against Nana Kwame Bediako personally and registered in Ghana on May 20, 2025.

An earlier attempt by Bediako's lawyers to set aside the registration was refused by the court on November 27, 2025.

The English court ordered Bediako to pay $14,928,314.70, plus interest at eight per cent per annum, amounting to $3,271.96 per day from January 23, 2025. At the Treasury exchange rate of GH₵16.15 to the dollar, the total amount, including interest and costs, is estimated at approximately GH₵258.76 million.

Background to the dispute

The judgment stems from a Deed of Indemnity Bediako signed in respect of his share of the repayment of a loan from the International Finance Corporation. Cola Holdings guaranteed the loan to Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd, a company in which Mr Bediako and Azad Cola hold shares. Following default, IFC called on Cola Holdings as guarantor to settle the loan, which Cola Holdings did. IFC then assigned its interest in the loan to Cola Holdings.

Cola Holdings sought unsuccessfully to have Mr Bediako fulfil his obligation to repay his share of the loan before instituting proceedings in the High Court in London. Mr Bediako has maintained that the dispute stems from a corporate loan rather than a personal one and has argued that the judgment was obtained improperly.

Court's ruling

In dismissing the application, Justice Dabanka-Bekoe applied the principles governing stays of execution pending appeal, as established in Joseph v Jebeille and affirmed by the Supreme Court in NDK Financial Services Ltd v Yiadom Construction and Electrical Works Ltd.

The court found that Mr Bediako's grounds of appeal, including arguments about the currency of the debt, the interest rate applied, and alleged public policy violations, did not establish arguable points of substance sufficient to warrant injunctive relief.

Assets within the jurisdiction

Central to the court's decision was the finding that Cola Holdings holds identifiable assets within Ghana. The court noted that the Respondent exhibited a certificate of registration of a mortgage from the Registrar of Companies and a memorandum of registration of mortgage at the Lands Commission, demonstrating registered security interests in immovable and other assets in Ghana. These same documents were exhibited by Mr Bediako himself in his earlier application to set aside the registration.

The court rejected Mr Bediako's assertion that Cola Holdings had "no traceable assets in Ghana," describing the claim as "demonstrably at odds with the record".

Costs awarded

The court awarded costs of GH₵20,000 against Mr Bediako. The judge declined to award punitive costs, noting that a litigant is entitled to test a ruling by appeal and seek protection pending that appeal.

The ruling follows a separate High Court decision on July 21, 2026, which granted Cola Holdings and its Receiver police assistance to take possession of the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu, a property linked to Mr Bediako. The court in that matter found that Cola Holdings had properly registered its security interest over the property and was entitled to enforce its rights under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052).

Cola Holdings and the Receiver were represented in the injunction application by Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba, while Mr Bediako was represented by Bobby Banson.