Adu Boahen
The Black Star, a business entity owned by a Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Adu Boahen, has responded to financial lost allegations levelled against the company.
According to a report by the Daily Post, “industry players in Ghana’s oil and mineral sector” say the Minister is using his private company to cause financial loss to the state.
The quantum of loss, the paper alleges, runs into approximately $5 million, and involves an inappropriate deal in which his company had advised the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) to subscribe “to a private placement by Ashanti Gold Corporations”.
Another leg of the accusation is that Black Stars also advised MIIF to purchase 14.5 million in shares in Ashanti Gold at C41.75/share.
Counter
Meanwhile, the company has described the publication as patently false and deliberately misleading, insisting that “it was never engaged by MIIF, as falsely alleged, to advise it on any private placement to do with the shares of Ashanti Gold Corporation”.
Black Stars, in a statement, explained that the Asante Gold business activities include the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties in Ghana, and West Africa. It added that the activities involve, wherever possible, “environmentally sustainable methods and protocols, to maximise the return to shareholders, the local community, and Ghana as a whole.”
“Asante Gold was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations, Act on May 4, 2011, and has continued as a company under the Business Corporations Act of British Columbia. ASG was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange on February 28, 2012, under the symbol “ASE” until May 27, 2015,” the statement added
The company said Asante Gold was listed and commenced trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) on May 28, 2015. It was also independently quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on March 12, 2012.
In addition, it said ASG is also registered in Ghana as an external company and has an established place of business in Ghana.
It also stated: “On February 8, 2021, ASG appointed Black Star to act as a Financial Advisor and Sponsoring Broker in connection with a listing by introduction on the GSE. Black Star is a Licensed Dealing Member of the GSE and is qualified to sponsor any company to the stock exchange as per its license. Black Star was engaged by ASG strictly for the listing by introduction on the GSE and not for capital raising.”
No dealings
Black Star further pointed out that it had not been involved in any of the ASG’s private capital raising, nor involved in any negotiations between the company and its shareholders at any point in time before, during or after the listing.
“Also, Black Star is not privy to ASG’s internal procurement process and procedures and therefore cannot comment on that. The management of Black Star has vast experience in Ghana’s capital market and a high level of understanding of the commodity markets locally and globally,” it added.
However, the statement indicated that the company was instrumental in two key capital transactions in the commodity sector by working on transactions.
These transactions include the listing by the introduction of ABSA’s New Gold ETF on the Ghana stock exchange in 2012 and advising on the $750 million Rights Issue by Tullow Oil in Mar 2017.
Black Star believes that this experience as well as other capital market transactions were instrumental in the company being engaged as advisors to list ASG by introduction on the GSE.
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