STANDARD CHARTERED BANK vs. VICTORIA ISLAND PROPERTIES AND ANOTHER [2004]DLCA1043

Date	2004-11-12
Suit No.
Citation No.	[2004]DLCA1043

TWUMASI JA

OWUSU-ANSAH JA

ANIM JA

ATTA AKYEA (WITH HIM JOSEPH AKYEAMPONG) FOR THE FIRST DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

ACE ANKOMAH (WITH HIM BRENDA AIKINS) FOR THE FIRST PLAINTIFF- RESPONDENT.

[2004]DLCA1043
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">STANDARD CHARTERED BANK<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">VICTORIA ISLAND PROPERTIES AND ANOTHER<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[2003-2005]
1 GLR 550<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:right;
mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">Date: 12 November 2004<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>ATTA
AKYEA (WITH HIM JOSEPH AKYEAMPONG) FOR THE FIRST DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

ACE
ANKOMAH (WITH HIM BRENDA AIKINS) FOR THE FIRST PLAINTIFF- RESPONDENT. <o:p></o:p>

TWUMASI,
OWUSU-ANSAH AND ANIM JJA<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>Twumasi JA.
This is an appeal from the judgment of the High Court, Accra dated 24 May 2002.
It dramatises the horrors of some of the sophisticated banking frauds often
heard of in these days. They are mostly technically designed criminal offences
capable of detection only through the same lenses of high technology typical of
our current computer age. The emphasis here is that modern criminals have left
the streets and are using high technology to infiltrate our banking and other
financial institutions for their fraudulent operations. It is within this
background that the facts of this case must be scrutinised and analysed. The
facts were as follows: Victoria Island Properties Ltd was a limited liability
company incorporated in Nigeria, Hiku House 28/30 Macarthy Street, Lagos. It is
the plaintiff herein. The next limited liability company is called ANZ
Grindlays Bank Ltd, 7 Quai du Mont Blanc, Geneva and it is a reputable bank
incorporated in and carrying on international banking operations, among others,
in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the co-plaintiff in this case. The third limited
liability company is our well-known Standard Chartered Bank (Gh) Ltd, with its
headquarters at the High Street, Accra, Ghana.<o:p></o:p>In
these proceedings, the plaintiff and the co-plaintiff instituted an action
before the High Court, Accra against the Standard Chartered Bank (Gh) Ltd as
the first defendant jointly with another gentleman sued as E O Effiong as the
second defendant. The latter is described in the statement of claim as a
Nigerian national who has been carrying out fraudulent banking transactions,
and is currently on trial in a series of bank frauds in the courts of Accra.
The facts as contained in the pleadings of the plaintiffs further reveal that
the first plaintiff was the owner of account No 912195 (the plaintiff account)
at the co-plaintiff’s bank in Geneva and the said account had been in operation
for over ten years. The first plaintiff’s chief executive and principal officer
was one Fred Egbe, a Nigerian businessman resident in Lagos who was the sole
signatory of the account. In or about August 1997 the second defendant,
pretending to be Fred Egbe instructed the co-plaintiff to make a transfer of a
sum of US$100,000 to account No 20010004257 in the name of E O Effiong, the
second defendant herein, at the International Commercial Bank, Accra. This the
second defendant did by forging the signature of Mr Egbe. That attempt failed
because the co-plaintiff had no sufficient funds to meet the instructions. On
26 August 1991 the second defendant issued another instruction this time
reducing the amount to US$70,000.<o:p></o:p>Apparently
suspicious of the credentials of the second defendant, the ICB returned the sum
of US$70,000 unpaid to the co-plaintiff. The second defendant, undaunted,
devised a new strategy. He opened a local currency account No 010010279101 (the
fictitious account) at the Standard Chartered Bank (Gh) Ltd, Liberia Road
Branch, Accra. Thereafter the second defendant, by two telefax instructions,
dated 2 and 4 September 1997 caused the co-plaintiff to transfer two sums of
US$12,000 and US$70,000 into the fictitious account at the first defendant’s Liberia
Road Branch, which he subsequently withdrew on or about 24 September 1997. The
first plaintiff did not become aware of this fraudulent transaction until
sometime in January 1998 when it received its statement of account at its own
request.<o:p></o:p>The
plaintiffs contended that the first defendant bank was negligent in the whole
saga and gave the particulars of negligence as follows:<o:p></o:p>