First Atlantic Bank to Pay Client GH¢10m After Sending Investment for Debt Exchange Without Consent
- First Atlantic Bank is set to pay over GH¢10 million after an unauthorised bond submission for the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme
- The presiding court found the bank negligent in breaching its fiduciary duty to the customer, Sebastian Klenam Asem, and Vihama Energy
- Ghana launched the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme in 2022 after defaulting on its debt, which included $55 billion in public dues
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First Atlantic Bank has been ordered to pay GH¢8,439,959.62 to a customer for losses suffered after tendering his bonds for the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme without consent.
The court, in the judgment delivered on December 12, 2025, also awarded exemplary damages of GH¢2,000,000.00 against the Ghanaian bank.
Source: Facebook
The Law Platform reported that the GH¢8,439,959.62 was an amount the customer, Sebastian Klenam Asem, would have received on his bonds.
Vihama Energy was the main plaintiff in the case.
First Atlantic Bank claimed the Bank of Ghana had coerced it into submitting the bonds, citing risks to its operations.
According to the case report on The Law Platform Library, the court held that the bank acted negligently and failed to safeguard the investment the customer had entrusted to the bank.
The court held at page 11 of the judgment that:
"The Defendant's unilateral decision to tender the bonds without the consent of the owner was a fundamental breach of its mandate and fiduciary trust as no such discretion was warranted by the facility agreement or any other instrument."
According to facts of the case, Vihama Energy and Asem acquired a loan facility from First Atlantic Bank, which was secured by Government of Ghana Bonds.
Per the claims of the Plaintiff as upheld by the Court, at no material time did the Plaintiffs execute any documentation or give any consent authorising the tender of the said bonds into the Government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
Notwithstanding the absence of consent, the Defendant was said to have unilaterally and unlawfully tendered the Plaintiffs’ bonds into the domestic debt exchange, purporting to do so in the interest of the Defendant Bank.
First Atlantic Bank sought to justify its conduct on the basis that the Plaintiffs had allegedly defaulted in repayment of the facility and that the bonds were at risk of becoming worthless if not tendered.
However, the court found no evidence for the claims the bank had made.
About Ghana's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme
Ghana launched a domestic debt exchange on December 5, 2022, after defaulting on its debt, which included $55 billion in public debt.
The Bank of Ghana notably lost GH¢55.12 billion due to the haircuts its investments suffered under the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
Under the domestic debt exchange, local bonds would be exchanged for new ones maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2037.
Their annual coupon would be set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024, and 10% from 2025 until maturity.
Local pension funds were exempted from the domestic debt exchange after unions threatened a general strike.
Source: Getty Images
Michael Blackson rants over domestic debt exchange
In 2024, YEN.com.gh reported that Michael Blackson, a US comedian of Ghanaian descent, had ranted online at the previous administration because of lost investments.
He stated that he had purchased Eurobonds to run his school situated at Agona Nsaba, but had suffered significant losses because of his investment in Ghana bonds.
With his tweets, Blackson directed his frustration at the finance minister, who was Ken Ofori-Atta at the time, suggesting he may have to rely on charity to run his school.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
