Members of the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of First Fund have reiterated their call for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to ensure they are paid their locked-up cash.
According to the Coalition, the customers number about 24,000 people and the monies owed them amounts to over GH¢117 million.
It will be recalled that the Securities and Exchange Commission, in November 2019, revoked the licenses of 53 fund management companies due to various breaches including the non-payment of clients’ funds totalling GH¢8 billion.
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The revocation of the licenses was followed by the appointment of new fund managers by the respective boards of 13 Collective Investment Schemes, comprising 11 Mutual Funds and two Unit Trusts.
Customers of First Fund saw the management of their investment being moved from First Banc Financial Services to TTL Capital in 2020 and now to OctaneDC Limited.
The changes according to some investors of First Fund have, however, not yielded any positive results.
In an interview with Citi Business News, spokesperson for the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of First Fund, Kwame Mawuko said they want their locked up funds paid them now and do not want their funds to be under any form of management.
“We want our monies back. It has been almost 3 years down the line since the fund was collapsed and the management was given over to TTL Capital. We have made several attempts trying to come to an amicable resolution as to how to get access to our funds, but all our efforts have proven futile. The bottom line is that all the aggrieved customers want their funds, and they want them immediately. This is the 3rd year that our monies have been kept there. We have lost purchasing power. Inflation and fuel prices have all been going up, the cost of goods and services have also been going, and our funds are not generating any money at all. So for us, we want the money now, and we don’t want any management of the funds. We want the monies right now and in the right quantities.”
Kwame Mawuko further added that apart from petitioning the office of the president over the issue, they are looking at embarking on a demonstration exercise.
“Our next step is, we will write to the President himself detailing our grievances. We are also making plans to go out on the streets to demonstrate against this whole saga. So those are our next steps. We want to involve the President, petition Parliament as well, and then make sure we get to the bottom of this matter.”
Source:Fiilafmonline/CitiBuss
