Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, Andrew Awuni has described as a “bad deal”, the sale of Merchant Bank to a private equity fund business, Fortiz.

According to him, everything about the intended sale shows that “it is being cooked up and a ploy to hand over Merchant Bank to some people”.

“There is a lot public concern over this sale and Ghanaians need time to understand what is going on because this deal is a bad deal”, he stressed.

Andrew Awuni made these comments in an interview with Joy FM’s Top Story, Thursday.

For the second time, the intended sale of Merchant Bank  has come under intense scrutiny. In August 2012, First Rand of South Africa was said to have acquired 75 percent stake in Merchant Bank for 91 million dollars but the majority shareholder of Merchant Bank, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), on July 12, announced the abrogation of the deal.

But in October, the Bank of Ghana approved the bid by Fortiz, a wholly owned Ghanaian company incorporated in June 2013 under the Companies Act 1963 (Act 17), to acquire 90 percent stake in Merchant Bank for 90 million.

This has generated a lot of controversy, with the Minority in Parliament arguing that the sale is not value for money.

The Minority member on the finance committee of parliament, Dr. Mark Asibey, at a press conference said the deal is a “scam perpetrated by a looting brigade bent on defrauding the Ghanaian tax payer”.

On his part, Andrew Awuni said Ghanaians  will be shortchanged, noting, “you cannot express interest in a Bank and within three months the bank is handed over to you”.

He noted that contributors of SSNIT needed time to understand the entire transaction, hence he will get in touch with his lawyers to seek an injunction to put the sale on hold.

Andrew Awuni, who has already filed a writ at the Fast Track High court to stop the sale, has questioned the basis on which the Bank of Ghana granted approval to Fortiz to take over 90 percent share of Merchant Bank.