Ghanaian lawyer and political strategist Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has expressed alarm over a Supreme Court ruling that awarded businessman Daniel Ofori monthly compounded interest at 30% over a ten-year period in a dispute involving Ecobank Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), warning the financial implications could be far-reaching.
The five-member Supreme Court panel, presided over by Justice Amadu Tanko, on May 12, 2026, unanimously dismissed an application by Ecobank Ghana and the GSE seeking to overturn an earlier judgment in Ofori’s favour. The court held that Ofori was entitled to monthly compounded interest at 30% from June 2, 2008, to July 25, 2018, on an investment sum of 6.16 million Ghana cedis, and thereafter simple interest at 13.34% until final payment. Costs of 50,000 cedis were also awarded in Ofori’s favour.
Otchere-Darko, describing himself as a bystander rather than a party to the case, said personal calculations he ran on the figures produced numbers he could only describe as staggering.
“This frightens me as a mere bystander,” he said, urging Ecobank Ghana to issue a public statement to reassure customers, shareholders and the broader financial market.
He questioned whether media reports accurately captured the ruling, noting that the Supreme Court had reportedly sought technical guidance from the Bank of Ghana during proceedings given the complexity of the interest calculations. According to him, the central bank advised that interest computations depend on the wording of the underlying contract and that where compound interest applies, it should ordinarily be calculated annually rather than monthly.
Otchere-Darko said he would be surprised if the court had disregarded that guidance, and indicated he was awaiting the release of the full written judgment before drawing firm conclusions.
The dispute centres on the method of computing interest on Ofori’s investment, specifically whether monthly or annual compounding applied between 2008 and 2018. The Supreme Court held that the evidence and applicable law supported the monthly compounding position.
Senior lawyer Ace Anan Ankomah led the legal team representing Ecobank Ghana and the GSE, while Tsatsu Tsikata appeared for Ofori alongside Nana Boakye Mensah-Bonsu and Prince Noel Danquah.
