Glico remains formidable - MD assures customers after NDK raid

The Managing Director (MD) of GLICO General Insurance Company Limited, Mr Andrew Acheampong-Kyei, has assured customers that the March 8 raid on the Glico house by representatives of NDK Financial Services will not create any impediment for the company’s operations.

“Glico General is a formidable company and pays legitimate claims promptly and will continue to cushion its clients for life,” he stated.

Mr Acheampong-Kyei, in an interview with the Graphic Business after the raid, said Glico remained a formidable institution inspiring respect through being impressively capable of paying claims to customers, noting: “It is important to state that Glico General has been rated "B-" for creditworthiness by Standard &Poors (S&P) Rating Agency and to date, is the only non-life insurance company to be rated in Ghana by S&P. It is also rated "A-" by the Global Credit Rating Agency of South Africa for claim payment abilities.”

He, however, condemned the raid, describing the act as mischievous and unlawful.

He said without recourse to the law, representatives of NDK Financial Services raided the Glico House at Adabraka at about midday last Thursday, with court bailiffs and policemen to seize some properties belonging to the Glico Group and other private individuals.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, March 8 after the raid, Mr Acheampong-Kyei said: “Representatives of NDK Financial Services, accompanied by court bailiffs, policemen and media men, in a mischievous and bizarre attempt invaded the Glico House premises around 12 midday yesterday, March 8, 2018, without notice or warning or due process to see the leadership of the company with a writ of FiFa to seize all parked vehicles on Glico's yard, as well as office equipment; and in this irregular process, they drove off with five vehicles, a photocopier and three personal computers belonging to Glico General and other private individuals.”

He added that the act by NDK Financial Services was unlawful because the court had clarified the mode of interest calculation which was the main subject under dispute and settlement was to be negotiated by the two entities.

“There is a ruling, and in this case there is three weeks for us to respond, and as you know we can appeal. And indeed, we were working on a certain ground which was for appeal.

The three weeks is not up and yet the plaintiff today came in with a writ, with an aim of attaching Glico General’s property,” he stated.

Court case

Explaining the court issue which had resulted in the raid, Mr Acheampong-Kyei stated that on February 21 this year, the High Court delivered a ruling on the payment of interest on the NDK Financial Services vs Kosfield vs Glico General case that resulted from a guarantee by Glico for Kosfield Limited to acquire a loan from NDK Financial Services, which was later deemed by the management of Glico to be inappropriate.

“The court ruled that interest principal payments should be paid on a simple interest basis, contrary to NDK Financial Services belief that payments be made with interest at a compounded rate and per the law (Court of Appeal Rules C.I.19), Glico General had 21 days to act on the ruling, whether to pay up based on the court’s ruling or appeal further,” he explained.

Police CID notified

The MD said Glico General had since reported the incident to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for investigations as the company sought to follow legal procedures to rectify the situation.