The Bank of Ghana has imposed sanctions on 47 individuals and 245 business entities for breaching the law on issuing dud cheques.
A dud cheque is a cheque that has been dishonoured by a Bank or Specialised Deposit-Taking Institution on which it is drawn, for the reason that the account holder who issued the cheque has inadequate or insufficient funds in his/her account to pay the amount specified on the cheque.
The affected bank customers issued dud cheques on at least three occasions between January 2022 and January 2024, despite warnings about the consequences of their actions, the BoG said in a statement on Tuesday, August 6.
The offenders are accordingly banned from a) Issuing cheques in Ghana for three years, effective 28th June 2024. b) Accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for three years with effect from 28th June 2024.
The central banks said the sanctions are without prejudice to any legal proceedings that may be taken against the offenders under Ghana’s criminal code.
“Banks and (SDIs) whose customers are involved have been directed to notify the culprits of the ban and recall all unused cheque books from them. They shall not issue new cheque books to the affected customers until the sanctions are lifted.
“The public is by this Notice, cautioned to desist from issuing dud cheques as the offence has both legal and regulatory consequences. Bank of Ghana will continue to monitor the payment system space closely and is committed to the promotion of the integrity and soundness of the financial system,” the statement said.
