SHAIBU AMADU vs. HFC BANK LTD. [2020]DLCA10065

Date	2020-07-09
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO.: H1/82/2020
Citation No.	[2020]DLCA10065

B. F. ACKAH-YENSU JA (PRESIDING)

H. KWOFIE JA

P. B. MENSAH JA

MATILDA IDUN-DONKOR FOR THE DEFENDANT/ APPELLANT

VICTOR P.C. ADAWUDU FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT

[2020]DLCA10065
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >SHAIBU AMADU<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>HFC BANK LTD.<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

CIVIL APPEAL NO.: H1/82/2020&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; DATE:
9TH JULY, 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MATILDA IDUN-DONKOR
FOR THE DEFENDANT/ APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

VICTOR P.C.
ADAWUDU FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>B. F. ACKAH-YENSU JA (PRESIDING), H.
KWOFIE JA, P. B. MENSAH JA<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;B.
ACKAH-YENSU, JA<o:p></o:p>This appeal is from the judgment of
the High Court, Accra dated 11th May 2018.&nbsp; In the High Court, the Plaintiff/Respondent
by his Amended Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim dated 14th
October, 2015 made a claim against the Defendant/Appellant for the following:<o:p></o:p>“(i)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Payment to the Plaintiff forthwith, the
sum of Two Hundred and Seventy-six Thousand, Five Hundred Euros (€276,500.00)
which the Plaintiff holds in his Savings Account number 0084029772016 held with
the Defendant Bank.<o:p></o:p>(ii)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Payment to Plaintiff
forthwith, the sum of Eleven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Five Ghana
Cedis (GH¢11,885.00) standing in the Plaintiff’s Current Account Number:
084041181019 held with the Defendant bank in the name of ‘BIG BRAIN ENGINEERING
&amp; TRADING ENTERPRISE’ and which the Plaintiff trades under<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (iii)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Damages<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (iv)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Legal Fees incurred in the pursuit of the
instant matter<o:p></o:p>(v)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cost and any other
order(s) deem fit by this Honourable Court”<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;At the
close of hearing, the learned trial Judge entered judgment for the
Plaintiff/Respondent’s in terms of the endorsement of claims on the Amended
Writ of Summons, and dismissed the Defendant/Appellant’s counterclaim.&nbsp; It is against this Judgment that the instant
appeal has been brought.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;For reasons
of convenience, in this delivery the parties will be referred to simply as the
“Appellant” and “Respondent”.<o:p></o:p>BACKGOUND FACTS<o:p></o:p>The
Respondent, who carries on business under the name of Big Brain Engineering and
Trading Enterprise, opened a Euro Savings Account number 0084029773016 with the
Appellant’s Abossey Okai Branch into which he deposited €276,500 all in €500
denominations on 14th July 2015.&nbsp;
It is a matter of dispute between the Parties as to whether the €500 banknotes
deposited by the Respondent on the said occasion and on a previous occasion,
specifically 16th June 2015, when he opened the Euro Savings Account
were genuine or counterfeit Euro banknotes.&nbsp;
It is also a matter of dispute between the Parties as to whether the banknotes
deposited by the Respondent were the proceeds of an unlicensed and therefore,
an illegal money exchange business, in respect of which the Court cannot aid
the Respondent in recovering them from the Appellant.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The case of
the Respondent was that the amount deposited by him on 14th July
2015 was accepted by the Appellant which issued him with a pay-in/deposit slip
and sent him a mobile alert indicating that his Euro Savings Account had been
credited with the amount.&nbsp; It is the
Respondent’s further case that previously, on 16th June 2015, he had
deposited a total amount of €195,000 in that Savings Account in two tranches of
€150,000 and €45,000, and had withdrawn “some
for his business activities without any problems whatsoever”.&nbsp; He averred that a few days after he deposited
€276,500 into his Euro Savings Account, he was called by the Branch Manager
ostensibly to negotiate a rate for the Euros to be transferred into his Cedi
Account.&nbsp; While at the Bank, he and his
relative who accompanied him there (PW1) were arrested by operatives of the
Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) “for
interrogation and investigation … on the supposition that the aforesaid genuine
money he lodged with the Defendant Bank was fake”.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The
Respondent further asserted that he had never dealt in counterfeit notes, nor
engaged in money laundering but a lawful businessman trading under the above
mentioned business name, Big Brain Engineering and Trading Enterprise.&nbsp; He also asserted that the money he deposited
with the Appellant were the proceeds of a family business which included
Covenant Forex Bureau Limited which is licensed by the Bank of Ghana and
controlled by his uncle, Haruna Shaibu (PW2), and other siblings.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;