Customers of defunct Diamond Winners Microfinance Limited in the Upper East Region have expressed worry over what they described as a seeming lack of concern on the part of government and its agencies such as the Bank of Ghana and Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) in the recovery of their locked up funds.
The disgruntled customers are therefore appealing to government and the relevant state agencies to intervene in their situation and help them retrieve their locked up monies.
Diamond Winners Microfinance Limited, just like the defunct DKM, in its operation offered customers whopping interest rates ranging from 50-60 percent per a month.
Before its closure in 2015, some individuals, in their pursuit to benefit from an interest rate that seem to have never existed, borrowed money from banks, while others sold their long-term investment and deposited at the financial company, hoping to get high yielding returns.
But those dream were shattered as the Bank of Ghana in its quest to clean-up the banking sector, closed down Diamond Winners Microfinance Limited and a moratorium slapped on its operation.
The closure of the financial company made it impossible for its customers to retrieve their hard earned investment.
Subsequently, government through the bank of Ghana took steps to pay customers of some defunct Savings and Loans and Microfinance Companies their funds in the country.
But the affected customers of Diamond Winners Microfinance Limited feel left out.
In Bolgatanga on Friday, Agnes Zizenga, a retiree who read a statement on behalf of the customers of the collapsed financial company noted that “Many businesses have collapsed as a result of monies locked-up in Diamond Winners Microfinance Limited. Some customers have lost their lives, marriages have been broken and many people are still facing problems with their bankers for their inability to pay back loans taken.”
Speaking to A1 News, Akurugu Desmond, an affected customer said he had saved his money at the company with the hope of getting interest which could enable him venture into trade.
“I was in school then, and ever since I completed in 2015, life has been difficult for me simply because, all the funds I saved got locked-up with Diamond Winners Company Limited”. He narrated.
Adding her side of the story, Alice Ayine said “I picked a loan and deposited there, and since 2015, I have been paying the loan and up till now, I am still paying the loan. We are appealing to the authorities, especially the president to come to our aid.”
The aggrieved customers were seen clad in red armbands, holding placards with inscriptions such as ‘Mr President, come to our aid’, ‘We have suffered for long’, ‘Mr President bail us out’.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHZ|Joshua Asaah|Ghana
