Former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Capital Bank, Ato Essien, has been sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with hard labor.

This ruling comes as a consequence of his failure to fully satisfy the GH¢90 million debt he had agreed to pay to the state, despite multiple opportunities provided to him.

In May 2023, the court granted him a two-month window to make the initial payment of GH¢20 million out of the GH¢60 million he owed. Regrettably, Ato Essien was unable to meet this directive.

Ato Essien had previously been convicted in December 2022, having reached an agreement with the state under section 35 of the Courts Act to avoid serving a custodial sentence.

In lieu of imprisonment, he had been tasked with a GH¢90 million debt obligation by the court. This sum was agreed upon to be paid by the end of 2023, with an initial payment of GH¢30 million made in December 2022, and the remaining amount divided into three equal installments due in 2023.

The first installment was expected to be paid by the end of April 2023, failure of which would result in a jail sentence. However, by the end of April, Ato Essien had only paid GH¢6 million of the GH¢20 million installment.

The state subsequently filed an application requesting the court to impose a custodial sentence, as the terms of the agreement stipulated that a failure to adhere to the payment plan would lead to imprisonment.

Upon request by Ato Essien's legal team, Judge Justice Eric Kyei Baffour deferred the hearing of the application to impose a custodial sentence.

Ato Essien's lawyers argued that agreements had been made with a company for the liquidation of some of his properties to cover the debt. However, it was revealed that only an additional GH¢2 million had been paid, bringing the total of the first installment to GH¢8 million, with a remaining GH¢12 million.

In summary, out of the GH¢90 million debt, Ato Essien had paid only GH¢38 million, leaving a balance of GH¢52 million unpaid.

This led to his 15-year imprisonment with hard labor sentence.