Court Halts Sale of Kasapa

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday August 23, 2007
AN Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday placed an interim injunction on the proposed sale of Kasapa Telecom Limited, operators of Kasapa mobile phone service.

The ex-parte application was filed by Kludjeson International Limited against Hutchison Telecommunications Limited and Cert well Limited who are allegedly making attempts to dispose of the shares in Kasapa Telecom, formerly Celltel Limited.

Kludjeson International is arguing that it has shares in Kasapa Telecom and any attempt to sell it without its consent will cause an irreparable damage to it.

Hutchison and Certwell were said to be acting through the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) based in Johannesburg South Africa.

Moving the motion Atta Akyea, counsel for Kludjeson told the court presided over by Justice Anto Ofori-Attah “the share offer is being done clandestinely under confidential cover and unless the court swiftly restrains the defendant the plaintiff will suffer irreparable damage.”

In the affidavit in support of the motion filed on August 20, Mr Prince Kwame Kludjeson, a Director and Shareholder of Kludjeson International said the change of the name from Celltell Limited to Kasapa Telecom had been reversed by a High Court judgement and order in April 2007.

He said Hutchison was incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong while Certwell, a subsidiary of Kawata Limited was incorporated in the title British Virgin Island and the two carry on telecommunication. business.

Mr Kludjeson future argued that Kludjeson and March 30, 1998 Kludjeson International signed a share purchase agreement and a shareholders agreement where Huthcisonpur chased 80 per cent shares of Kludjeson International
leaving shares of Kludjeson International, leaving 20 percent for the plaintiff.

He said they had also agreed that Hutchison could hold the shares either by beneficiary or through associates and on June 10, 1998, Hutchison at a shareholders resolute ion nominated Certwell to hold the shares for it.

He said that later he discovered that at all material times, Certwell was not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hutchison, contrary to the representation made by Hutchison when introducing Certwell to Kludjeson International.

He said they got to know that Certwell was a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwata Limited and the latter has thus become a
total stranger to the arrangements between Kludjeson and Hutchison.

He said that, at all material times, Hutchison knew or was aware of the identity and status of Certwell and it was an important consideration and a major reason for entering into the share transfer arrangement.

Had Kludjeson International not been misled as to the true identity and status of Certwell it would not have executed the share purchase agreement in 1998, he said.

“Hutchison International made the said disclosure and representation concerning Certwell fraudulently”.

Mr Kludjeson said that Hutchison transferred its shares in Certwell to Kuwata on March 20, 1998, ten clear days before coming to execute the agreement with Kludjeson International and described the move as a deliberate act.

He also said Hutchison in its April 2007 report to the securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, fraudulently represented that its shares had increased from 80 percent to 100 percent, following a purported transfers of 20 per cent shareholding from Kludjeson International.

He said once the substantive matter is before a court of competent jurisdiction, it will impede the administration, it will impede the administration of justice if the proposed sale is allowed to go ahead.