High Court dismisses Cheddar's bid to halt $14.9m judgment enforcement
Ghanaian businessman Nana Kwame Bediako, known as Cheddar, has failed to stop the enforcement of a $14.9m judgment obtained against him by UK-based Cola Holdings, as he appeals an earlier ruling on the case.
A Ghanaian High Court has dismissed businessman Nana Kwame Bediako's application to stop the enforcement of a $14.9m (£11.2m) judgment obtained against him by UK-based Cola Holdings.
Mr Bediako, also known as Cheddar, had asked the court to prevent Cola Holdings from enforcing the judgment against him personally while he appeals against an earlier ruling refusing to overturn its registration in Ghana.
Justice Doris Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe of the Commercial Division dismissed the application on 27 July and awarded costs of GH¢20,000 against Mr Bediako.
The original judgment, issued by an English court on 23 January 2025, ordered Mr Bediako to pay $14,928,314.70, together with interest at 8% a year.
The judgment was registered in Ghana on May 20 2025.
According to the court documents, the interest amounts to about $3,272 a day from the date of the judgment.
At an exchange rate of GH¢16.15 to the dollar, the total amount, including interest and costs, is estimated at about GH¢258.8m.
What is the dispute about?
The case relates to a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Kensington Residential Partners 1 Ltd, a company in which Mr Bediako and businessman Azad Cola hold shares.
Cola Holdings had guaranteed the loan.
After the borrower defaulted, the IFC called on Cola Holdings to repay the loan. The IFC subsequently assigned its interest in the loan to Cola Holdings.
Cola Holdings then sought repayment from Mr Bediako under a Deed of Indemnity he had signed in relation to his share of the debt.
After attempts to resolve the matter failed, Cola Holdings took the case to the High Court in London and obtained the judgment against Mr Bediako.
Mr Bediako has argued that the dispute arose from a corporate loan rather than a personal obligation and has challenged the way the judgment was obtained.
Why the Ghana court rejected his application
Justice Dabanka-Bekoe said Mr Bediako had not demonstrated sufficient grounds for the court to stop enforcement while his appeal was pending.
His lawyers had raised issues including the currency of the debt, the interest rate and alleged breaches of public policy.
But the judge found that these did not amount to sufficiently arguable grounds to justify the injunction being sought.
The court also rejected Mr Bediako's claim that Cola Holdings had no traceable assets in Ghana.
It said documents before the court showed that the company had registered security interests over assets in Ghana, including immovable property.
The judge noted that some of the same documents had been presented by Mr Bediako himself in an earlier application challenging the registration of the English judgment.
Oxford Street hotel dispute
The latest ruling comes days after another High Court decision involving the same parties.
On 21 July, the court granted Cola Holdings and its receiver police assistance to take possession of the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu, Accra, a property linked to Mr Bediako.
The court found that Cola Holdings had properly registered its security interest over the property and could enforce its rights under Ghana's Borrowers and Lenders Act.
Mr Bediako was represented in the latest application by lawyer Bobby Banson, while Cola Holdings and its receiver were represented by lawyers including Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba.
The latest ruling does not determine the outcome of Mr Bediako's appeal against the registration of the English judgment.