US$1.5billion Cocoa Syndicated Loan Diverted To Unknown Use

A US$1.5billion syndicated loan that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) signed in September 2021 for the 2021-2022 cocoa season has reportedly been tampered with and has stalled disbursements to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs).

Whatsup News investigations reveal that LBCs have been thrown into a state of panic as COCOBOD refuses to disburse the needed funds for them to buy cocoa from the farm gate.

Amidst the situation, both COCOBOD and the Bank of Ghana have remained tight-lipped on the issue, as Ghana’s cocoa sales for the 2021-2022 crop season faces threat from the reported diversion of the US$1.5 billion.

No explanation has been given by COCOBOD when Whatsup News enquired.

The development is expected to significantly hit government revenues from cocoa, despite the Akufo Addo administration desperately seeking funds like the controversial Electronic Levy (e-levy) to boost the empty government coffers.

In September 2021, (COCOBOD) signed a $1.5 billion syndicated loan as part of an annual pre-export preparation to finance cocoa purchases and operations costs for the 2021/22 season.

COCOBOD, after getting the loan is supposed to pay LBCs to allow them to buy cocoa beans from farmers on its behalf. However, LBCs have not received payments, Whatsup News has heard.

A consortium of twenty-eight local and international banks, including Standard Chartered, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, were party to the syndicated loan.

And the loan is repayable in seven installments between February and August 2022 and priced at 110 basis points over Libor.

Even though the repayment schedule of the loan kicked in last month, the money has not been disbursed and nobody knows what has happened to it.