Dubawa investigates allegations against ECG, Bawumia & Hubtel: see what they found

Weeks before the 2024 elections, allegations surfaced against Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. He was accused of owning Hubtel, a digital payment platform. Critics claimed he had an improper business deal with Ghana’s electricity company.

These allegations appeared on various platforms. A Twitter account called @StatsAfric suggested Bawumia was linked to Hubtel. An X user, Nana Yaa Prempeh, shared a video claiming Bawumia owned Hubtel and that it collected payments for ECG.

The activist alleged that Hubtel took a percentage of ECG payments. He also claimed that Hubtel manipulated figures to gain more money from ECG. This sparked public outrage and raised questions about ownership and corruption.

Given these claims, DUBAWA decided to investigate further. They aimed to find out if Bawumia owned Hubtel and if ECG contracted them as a payment platform.

To begin the investigation, DUBAWA checked Hubtel's website for information. According to Hubtel, their relationship with ECG started in 2007 when they operated as SMSGH. They helped deploy ECG’s first APIs for postpaid bills and SMS alerts.

In 2011, they managed the rollout of ECG’s point-of-sale devices for payments. These events occurred before Dr. Bawumia became vice president.

In May 2022, after receiving a license from the Bank of Ghana, Hubtel approached ECG with proposals for billing technology solutions. By July 2022, ECG launched a digital transformation plan that included working with Hubtel at no upfront cost.

Hubtel then overhauled ECG’s commercial systems and took over payment processing responsibilities.

Next, DUBAWA investigated Hubtel's ownership structure and potential conflicts of interest with ECG. They spoke to Cornelis Rouloph Otoo from Hubtel's legal team. Otoo confirmed that Dr. Bawumia has no shares or ownership in the company.

He stated there are only two shareholders: Mr. Bram and Mr. Apenteng. Otoo emphasized that no shares were ever held by Dr. Bawumia or any political figure.

Alex Bram also reinforced this claim on social media, stating he and Ernest Apenteng are the only shareholders of Hubtel.

DUBAWA contacted Haruna Mohammed from the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He dismissed the allegations against Dr. Bawumia as false rumors meant to discredit him.

When DUBAWA reached out to Marie Afua Amoakwa-Boadu for evidence supporting her claims, she declined to comment.

Not satisfied with previous responses, DUBAWA filed a Right to Information request at the Registrar General’s Department under Ghana’s Companies Act 2019 (Act 992). This law requires companies to disclose registered shareholders and beneficial owners transparently.

Official documents obtained disproved claims of Bawumia's ownership in Hubtel:

- Company Name: Hubtel Ltd
- Incorporation Date: July 23, 2007
- Shareholders:
- Alexander Adjei Bram (50,500 shares)
- Ernest Apenteng (49,500 shares)

Both individuals are also listed as beneficial owners of the company along with directors:

- Alexander Adjei Bram
- Ernest Apenteng
- Hans Daniel Nilsson
- Patience Akyianu