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MONEYLENDERS ORDINANCE, 1951 (CAP
176)
As amended
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Short Title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Certain Persons Presumed to be
Moneylenders.
4. Licences to be Taken out by
Moneylenders.
5. Penalty for Breaches of Section
4.
6. Certificate Required for Grant
of Moneylender's Licence.
7. Procedure on Application for a
Certificate.
8. Refusal to Grant a Certificate
9. Transfer of Business to other
Premises.
10. Suspension and Forfeiture of
Moneylender's Certificate.
11. Disqualification for Making
use of Forged Certificates.
12. Form of Moneylenders'
Contracts.
13. Interest to be Charged by
Moneylenders.
14. Rate of Interest where Sums
Lent to Same Person at Various
Times.
15. Prohibition of Compound
Interest and Provision as to
Defaults.
16. Apportionment Between
Principal and Interest of Amounts
Paid by Borrower.
17. Prohibition of Charge for
Expressed Loans by Moneylenders.
18. Employment of Agents or
Canvassers by Moneylender
Prohibited.
19. Moneylenders to Give Receipts
and Keep Record of Transactions.
20. Obligation of Moneylender to
Supply Information as to State of
Loan and Copies of Documents
Relating Thereto.
21. Restrictions on Moneylending
Advertisements.
22. Notice and Information to be
given on Assignment of
Moneylenders Debts.
23. Application of Ordinance as
Respects Assignees.
24. Moneylender to Produce
Statement of Account in
Proceedings.
25. Inducing Borrowing by False
Statements.
26. Penalty for Taking Promissory
Note in which Amount is Left Blank
or not Truly Stated.
27. Protection of Lenders against
Frivolous and Vexatious Actions.
28. Common Informers Compounding
Information.
29. Limitation of Time for
Proceedings in Respect of Money
Lent by Moneylenders.
30. Power of Governing in Council
to make Regulations.
SCHEDULES
Schedule A—Calculation of interest
where the interest charged on a
loan is not expressed in terms of
a rate.
Schedule B
Schedule C
Ordinance No. 21 of 1940.
CHAPTER 176.
(Gold Coast.)
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO
MONEYLENDING.
Date of Commencement. [1st
February, 1941.]
Section 1—Short Title.
This Ordinance may be cited as the
"Moneylenders Ordinance."
Section 2—Interpretation.
In this Ordinance, unless the
context otherwise requires —
"Authorised name" and "authorised
address" mean respectively the
name under which and the address
at which a moneylender is
authorised by a certificate
granted under this Ordinance to
carry on business as a
moneylender;
"Business name" means the name or
style under which any business is
carried on, whether in partnership
or otherwise;
"Company" means any body corporate
being a moneylender;
"Firm" means an unincorporate body
of two or more individuals, or one
or more individuals and one or
more corporations, or two or more
corporations, who have entered
into partnership with one another
with a view to carrying on
business for profit;
"Moneylender" means and includes
every person whose business is
that of moneylending or who
carries on or advertises or
announces himself or holds himself
out in any way as carrying on that
business, whether or not he also
possesses or owns property or
money derived from sources other
than the lending of money and
whether or not he carries on the
business as a principal or as an
agent; but shall not include—
Cap 190.
(a) any society registered under
the Co-operative Societies
Ordinance; or
(b) any body corporate,
incorporated or empowered by
special Ordinance to lend money in
accordance with such Ordinance; or
(c) any person bona fide carrying
on the business of banking or
insurance or bona fide carrying on
any business, not having for its
primary object the lending of
money, in the course of which and
for the purposes whereof he lends
money; or
(d) any person or body corporate
exempted from the provisions of
this Ordinance by Order of the
Governor in Council; or
Cap 189.
(e) any pawnbroker licensed under
the Pawnbrokers Ordinance, where
the loan is made in accordance
with the provisions of the
Pawnbrokers Ordinance, and does
not exceed the sum of fifty
pounds.
"Principal" means in relation to a
loan the amount actually lent to
the borrower.
Section 3—Certain Persons Presumed
to be Moneylenders.
Save as excepted in paragraphs
(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the
definition of "Moneylender" in
section 2 any person who lends
money at interest or who lends a
sum of money in consideration of a
larger sum being repaid shall be
presumed to be a moneylender until
the contrary be proved.
Section 4—Licences to be Taken out
by Moneylenders.
(1) Every moneylender, whether
carrying on business alone or as a
partner in a firm, shall take out
annually in respect of every
address at which he carries on his
business as such, a licence ( in
this Ordinance referred to as
"moneylender's licence") which
shall expire on the 31st day of
December next after it is granted,
and there shall be charged for
every moneylender's licence a fee
of ¢2,000.00. [As amended by
Moneylenders Ordinance (Amendment)
Law, 1983 (PNDCL 57) s.1]
(2) Subject to the provisions of
this Ordinance, moneylender's
licences shall be in such form as
the National Liberation Council
may prescribe and shall be
granted, on payment of the fee
prescribed by subsection (1) by
any public officer authorised by
the National Liberation Council to
grant them.
(3) A moneylender's licence shall
be taken out by a moneylender in
the true name of the moneylender
and shall be void if it be taken
out in any other name and every
moneylender's licence shall also
show the moneylender's authorised
name and address.[As substituted
by Moneylenders Ordinance
(Amendment) Decree, 1966 (NLCD 88)
s.1]
Section 5—Penalty for Breaches of
Section 4.
If any person—
(a) takes out a moneylender's
licence in any name other than his
true name; or
(b) carries on business as a
moneylender without being in
possession of a valid
moneylender's licence authorising
him so to do; or
(c) being licensed as a
moneylender, carries on business
as such in any name other than his
authorised name, or at any other
place than his authorised address
or addresses; or
(d) enters into any agreement in
the course of his business as a
moneylender with respect to the
advance or repayment of money or
takes any security for money in
the course of his business as a
moneylender, otherwise than in his
authorised name;
he shall for each offence be
liable on summary conviction—
(1) if other than a body
corporate, to a fine not exceeding
one hundred pounds and in the
event of a second or subsequent
conviction to imprisonment for
three months or a fine of one
hundred pounds or both; and
(2) in the case of a body
corporate, to a fine of one
hundred pounds and in the event of
a second or subsequent conviction
to a fine of five hundred pounds.
Provided that no prosecution shall
be instituted under paragraph (b)
without the consent of a Law
Officer
Section 6—Certificate Required for
Grant of Moneylender's Licence.
(1) A moneylender's licence shall
not be granted except to a person
who holds a certificate granted in
accordance with the provisions of
this section authorising the grant
of the licence to that person, and
a separate certificate shall be
required in respect of every
separate licence. Any
moneylender's licence granted in
contravention of this section
shall be void.
(2) Application for a certificate
under this section (in this
Ordinance referred to as a
certificate) shall be made to the
District Commissioner of the
District in which the
moneylender's business is to be
carried on and may be granted or
refused by such District
Commissioner in accordance with
the provisions of this Ordinance.
(3) Every certificate granted to a
moneylender shall show his true
name and the name under which, and
the address at which, he is
authorised by the certificate to
carry on business as such, and a
certificate shall not authorise a
moneylender to carry on business
at more than one address, or under
more than one name, or under any
name which includes the word
"bank" or otherwise implies that
he carries on banking business,
and no certificate shall authorise
a moneylender to carry on business
under any name except—
(a) his true name; or
(b) the name of a firm in which he
is a partner, not being a firm
required by the Registration of
Business Names Ordinance, to be
registered.
Cap. 177
(4) A certificate shall come into
force on the date specified
therein, and shall expire on the
thirty-first day of December next
following.
(5) If any person is aggrieved by
the refusal of the District
Commissioner to grant a
certificate, he may within one
month appeal to the Governor in
Council whose decision thereon
shall be final and conclusive.
Section 7—Procedure on Application
for a Certificate.
A
person intending to apply for a
certificate under this Ordinance
shall, fourteen days at least
before the application, give
notice of his intention by
registered letters sent by post to
the District Commissioner of the
District, and to the officer in
charge of the police at the place
where he proposes to carry on
business, and shall in the notice
set forth his name and address and
the address at which he proposes
to carry on his business.
Section 8—Refusal to Grant a
Certificate.
A
certificate shall not be refused
except on one or more of the
following grounds—
(a) that satisfactory evidence has
not been produced of the good
character of the applicant, and in
the case of a company of the
persons responsible for the
management thereof;
(b) that satisfactory evidence has
been produced that the applicant,
or any person responsible or
proposed to be responsible, for
the management of his business as
a moneylender, is not a fit and
proper person to hold a
certificate;
(c) that the applicant, or any
person responsible or proposed to
be responsible for the management
of his business as a moneylender,
is by order of a Court
disqualified for holding a
certificate;
(d) that the applicant is
disqualified under section 11 for
the grant of a moneylender's
licence;
(e) that the applicant has not
complied with the provisions of
any regulation made with respect
to applications for certificates.
Section 9—Transfer of Business to
Other Premises.
(1) A moneylender shall not
transfer his business to premises
other than those specified in his
licence, until he has notified the
District Commissioner of the
proposed transfer.
(2) Any moneylender contravening
the provisions of this section
shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding ten pounds.
Section 10—Suspension and
Forfeiture of Moneylender's
Certificate.
(1) Where any person, being the
holder of a certificate, is
convicted of any offence under
this Ordinance the Court —
(a) may order that any certificate
held by that person, and in the
case of a partner in a firm by any
other partner in the firm, shall
either be suspended for such time
as the Court thinks fit, or shall
be forfeited, and may also, if the
Court thinks fit, declare any such
person, or any person responsible
for the management of the
moneylending business carried on
by the person convicted, to be
disqualified for obtaining a
certificate for such time as the
Court thinks fit; and
(b) shall cause particulars of the
conviction and of any order made
by the Court under this subsection
to be endorsed on every
certificate held by the person
convicted or by any other person
affected by the order, and shall
cause copies of those particulars
to be sent to the authority by
whom any certificate so endorsed
was granted, and to the
Commissioner of Police:
Provided that, where by order of a
Court a certificate held by any
person is suspended or forfeited,
or any person is disqualified for
obtaining a certificate, he may,
whether or not he is the person
convicted, appeal against the
order in the same manner as any
person convicted may appeal
against his conviction, and the
Court may, if it thinks fit,
pending the appeal, defer the
operation of the order.
(2) Any certificate required by a
Court for endorsement in
accordance with the foregoing
provisions of this section shall
be produced, in such manner and
within such time as may be
directed by the Court, by the
person by whom it is held, and any
person who, without reasonable
cause, makes default in producing
any certificate so required shall,
in respect of each offence, be
liable to a fine not exceeding one
pound for each day during which
the default continues.
(3) Where a certificate held by
any person is ordered to be
suspended or to be forfeited under
the foregoing provisions of this
section, any moneylender's
licences granted to that person,
whether in pursuance of that or
any other certificate, shall be
suspended during the period for
which the certificate is ordered
to be suspended or become void, as
the case may be.
Section 11—Disqualification for
Making use of Forged Certificates.
A
licence granted in pursuance of a
forged certificate shall be void;
and if any person makes use of a
forged certificate, knowing it to
be forged, he shall be
disqualified for the grant of a
moneylender's licence at any time
thereafter.
Section 12—Form of Moneylenders'
Contracts.
(1) No contract by a borrower or
his agent for the repayment or
securing of money lent to the
borrower or to any agent on his
behalf by a moneylender or for the
payment by the borrower or by any
agent on his behalf of interest on
money so lent and no security
given by the borrower or by any
such agent as aforesaid in respect
of any such contract shall be
enforceable, unless a memorandum
in writing of the contract be made
and signed by the parties to the
contract or their respective
agents, or in the case of a loan
to a firm, by a partner in or
agent of the firm, and unless a
copy of such memorandum be
delivered or sent by post to the
borrower or his agent within seven
days of its having been so signed
and certified; and no such
contract or security shall be
enforceable if it is proved that
the memorandum aforesaid was not
signed by the borrower before the
money was lent or before the
security was given as the case may
be:
Provided always that, where a
security is given to secure an
immediate loan and subsequent
loans, the security shall be
enforceable in respect of any
subsequent loan thereby secured if
the note or memorandum in respect
of such subsequent loan be signed
and delivered to the borrower
before the money shall be lent.
(2) In this section the expression
"borrower" includes a surety.
(3) The memorandum aforesaid shall
contain all the terms of the
contract, and in particular shall
show separately and distinctly—
(a) the date on which the loan is
made;
(b) the amount of the principal of
the loan; and
(c) the rate of interest per
centum per annum, payable in
respect of the loan or, where the
interest is not expressed in terms
of a rate per centum per annum,
the amount of such interest.
All dates and numbers shall be
written in English numerals
notwithstanding that they are also
written in any other way.
Section 13—Interest to be Charged
by Moneylenders.
(1) Where, in any proceedings in
respect of any money lent by a
moneylender or by any person other
than a moneylender after the
commencement of this Ordinance, or
in respect of any agreement or
security made or taken after the
commencement of this Ordinance in
respect of money lent either
before or after the commencement
of this Ordinance, it is found
that —
(a) on a loan secured by a first
charge on any real or personal
property, or by the indemnity or
personal guarantee of a third
party, the interest exceeds the
rate of 15 per cent per annum for
the first £500 or part thereof or
12½ per cent on any amount in
excess of £500; or
(b) on a loan secured by a second
charge on any real or personal
property, the interest exceeds the
rate of 17½ per cent per annum for
the first £500 or part thereof or
15 per cent per annum on any
amount in excess of £500; or
(c) on an unsecured loan the
interest exceeds the rate of 30
per cent per annum
Cap. 175.
or the corresponding rate in
respect of any other period, the
Court, notwithstanding any native
law or custom to the contrary,
shall, unless the contrary is
proved, presume for the purposes
of section 3 of the Loans Recovery
Ordinance, that the interest
charged is excessive and that the
transaction is harsh and
unconscionable, but this provision
shall be without prejudice to the
powers of the Court under that
section where the Court is
satisfied that the interest
charged, although not exceeding
the rates mentioned in this
section, is excessive.
Cap 175.
(2) Where a Court reopens a
transaction of a moneylender under
the said section 3 of the Loans
Recovery Ordinance, the Court may
require the moneylender to produce
any certificate granted to him in
accordance with the provisions of
this Ordinance, and may cause such
particulars as the Court thinks
desirable to be endorsed on any
such certificate, and a copy of
the particulars to be sent to the
authority by whom the certificate
was granted.
Cap 175.
(3) The powers of a Court under
the said subsection (3) of section
1 of the Loans Recovery Ordinance
may be exercised notwithstanding
that the moneylender's right of
action for the recovery of the
money lent is barred.
Section 14—Rate of Interest where
Sums Lent to Same Person at
Various Times.
(1) If several sums are loaned to
the same person, whether at the
same or different times, the rate
of interest on the aggregate sum
loaned, or owing at the date the
last sum is loaned, shall be the
rate of interest for the purposes
of section 13 as if the whole
amount then owing had been loaned
as one transaction.
(2) The interest shall constitute
a comprehensive charge to include
all discounts, commissions,
bonuses, fines, expenses, and any
amount by whatsoever name called,
in excess of the principal, paid
or payable to the lender in
consideration of or otherwise in
respect of a loan, but shall not
include charges, expenses or costs
in respect of —
(a) stamp duties;
(b) registration of any document
in accordance with the provisions
of any law;
(c) preparation of any document by
a qualified legal practitioner;
(d) investigation of title to any
property;
(e) insurance on property;
(f) obtaining a copy of the record
of the judgment of any Court;
(g) inspection of any property by
the mortgagee prior to the
mortgage;
or any costs specifically allowed
by any court before which the
matter may come for adjudication.
Section 15—Prohibition of Compound
Interest and Provision as to
Defaults.
(1) Subject as hereinafter
provided, any contract made after
the commencement of this Ordinance
for the loan of money by a
moneylender shall be illegal in so
far as it provides directly or
indirectly for the payment of
interest in advance whether by
deduction of any amount from the
principal sum borrowed or
otherwise, or for the payment of
compound interest on the loan or
for the rate or amount of interest
being increased by reason of any
default in the payment of sums due
under the contract:
Provided that provision may be
made by any such contract that if
default is made in the payment
upon the due date of any sum
payable to the moneylender under
the contract, whether in respect
of principal or interest, the
moneylender shall be entitled to
charge simple interest on that sum
from the date of the default until
the sum is paid, at a rate not
exceeding the rate payable in
respect of the principal apart
from any default, and any interest
so charged shall not be reckoned
for the purposes of this section
as part of the interest charged in
respect of the loan.
(2) Any moneylender contravening
the provisions of this section
shall be liable to fine not
exceeding fifty pounds in respect
of each such loan.
Section 16—Apportionment Between
Principal and Interest of Amounts
Paid by Borrower.
(1) Where by a contract for the
loan of money by a moneylender the
interest charged on the loan is
not expressed in terms of a rate,
any amount paid or payable to the
moneylender under the contract
other than simple interest shall
be appropriated to principal and
interest in the proportion that
the principal bears to the total
amount of the interest.
Method of Calculating Rate of
Interest when not expressed in
terms of a Rate.
Schedule A.
Schedule B.
(2) Where the interest charged on
a loan of money is not expressed
in terms of a rate per centum per
annum the rate of interest per
centum per annum charged on the
loan shall be calculated in
accordance with the provisions of
Schedule A or, where the contract
provides for the payment of equal
instalments of principal and
interest at equal intervals of
time, in accordance with the
formula given in Schedule B.
Section 17—Prohibition of Charge
for Expressed Loans by
Moneylenders.
Any agreement between a
moneylender and a borrower or
intending borrower for the payment
by the borrower or intending
borrower to the moneylender of any
sum on account of costs, charges
or expenses incidental to or
relating to the negotiations for
or the granting of the loan or
proposed loan shall be illegal,
and if any sum is paid to such
moneylender by a borrower or
intending borrower for or on
account of any such costs, charges
or expenses that sum shall be
recoverable as a debt due to the
borrower or intending borrower,
or, in the event of the loan being
completed, shall, if not so
recovered, be set off against the
amount actually lent and that
amount shall be deemed to be
reduced accordingly:
Provided that the provisions of
this section shall not apply to
the charges, expenses and costs
specified in section 14 (2) as
charges, expenses and costs
excluded from those constituting
interest.
Section 18—Employment of Agents or
Canvassers by Moneylender
Prohibited.
(1) No moneylender or any person
acting on behalf of a moneylender
shall employ any agent or
canvasser for the purpose of
inviting any person to borrow
money or to enter into any
transaction involving the
borrowing of money from such
moneylender, and no person shall
act as such agent or canvasser, or
demand or receive directly or
indirectly any sum or other
valuable consideration by way of
commission or otherwise for
introducing or undertaking to
introduce to a moneylender any
person desiring to borrow money.
(2) Any contract by the borrower
to pay to an agent or canvasser of
a moneylender a commission for
obtaining a loan shall be null and
void, and if any sum has been paid
by way of commission or otherwise
for such service, the agent or
canvasser shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding twenty pounds.
Section 19—Moneylenders to Give
Receipts and Keep Record of
Transactions.
(1) Every moneylender shall give a
receipt for every payment made to
him on account of a loan or of
interest thereon. Every such
receipt shall be given immediately
the payment is made.
(2) Every moneylender shall keep a
book (which shall be securely
bound and paged so that leaves
cannot be removed or inserted
without apparent damage) in which
he shall enter in connection with
every loan made by him —
(a) the date on which the loan was
made;
(b) the amount of the principal;
(c) the rate of interest;
(d) all sums received in respect
of the loan or the interest
thereon, with the dates of payment
thereof
and shall produce such book when
required to do so by any Court.
(3) The entries in the said book
shall be made forthwith on the
making of the loan or the receipt
of sums paid in respect thereof as
the case may be.
(4) Any moneylender who fails to
comply with any of the
requirements of this section shall
not be entitled to enforce any
claim in respect of any
transaction in relation to which
the default shall have been made.
He shall also be guilty of an
offence under this Ordinance and
shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding ten pounds or in the
case of a continuing offence to a
fine not exceeding five pounds for
each day or part of a day during
which such offence continues.
Section 20—Obligation of
Moneylender to Supply Information
as to State of Loan and Copies of
Documents Relating Thereto.
(1) In respect of every contract
for the repayment of money lent by
a moneylender (whether made before
or after the commencement of this
Ordinance) the moneylender shall,
on any reasonable demand in
writing being made by the borrower
at any time during the continuance
of the contract and on tender by
the borrower of the sum of one
shilling for expenses, supply to
the borrower, or, if the borrower
so requires, to any person
specified in that behalf in the
demand, a statement signed by the
moneylender or his agent showing—
(a) the date on which the loan was
made, the amount of the principal
of the loan and the rate per
centum per annum of interest
charged; and
(b) the amount of any payment
already received by the
moneylender in respect of the
loan or the interest thereon and
the date on which it was made; and
(c) the amount of every sum due to
the moneylender, but unpaid, and
the date upon which it became due,
and the amount of interest accrued
due and unpaid in respect of every
such sum; and
(d) the amount of every sum not
yet due which remains outstanding,
and the date upon which it will
become due.
Schedule C
A
statement of account in the form
in Schedule C shall be deemed to
comply with the requirements of
this subsection.
(2) A moneylender shall, on any
reasonable demand in writing by
the borrower, and on tender of a
reasonable sum for expenses,
supply a copy of any document
relating to a loan made by him or
any security therefor, to the
borrower, or if the borrower so
requires, to any person specified
in that behalf in the demand.
(3) If a moneylender to whom a
demand has been made under this
section fails without reasonable
excuse to comply therewith within
one month after the demand has
been made, he shall not, so long
as the default continues, be
entitled to sue for or recover any
sum due under the contract on
account either of principal or
interest, and interest shall not
be chargeable in respect of the
period of the default, and if such
default is made or continued after
proceedings have ceased to lie in
respect of the loan, the
moneylender shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding one pound for
every day on which the default
continues.
Section 21—Restrictions on
Moneylending Advertisements.
(1) No person shall knowingly send
or deliver or cause to be sent or
delivered to any person except in
response to his written request
any circular or other document
advertising the name, address or
telephone number of a moneylender,
or containing an invitation—
(a) to borrow money from a
moneylender;
(b) to enter into any transaction
involving the borrowing of money
from a moneylender;
(c) to apply to any place with a
view to obtaining information or
advice as to borrowing any money
from a moneylender.
(2) Subject as hereinafter
provided, no person shall publish
or cause to be published in any
newspaper or other printed paper
issued periodically for public
circulation, or by means of any
poster or placard, an
advertisement advertising any such
particulars, or containing any
such invitation, as aforesaid:
Provided that an advertisement by
a moneylender licensed under this
Ordinance may be published by or
on behalf of a moneylender in any
newspaper or other printed paper
issued periodically for public
circulation or by means of any
poster or placard exhibited at an
authorised address of the
moneylender if it contains no
particulars other than the
following —
(a) the name under which the
moneylender is authorised by the
certificate granted under section
6 to carry on business; and
(b) any authorised address at
which the moneylender carries on
business and the telegraphic
address and telephone number
thereof; and
(c) any address at which he
formerly carried on business; and
(d) a statement that he lends
money with or without security;
and
(e) a statement of the highest and
lowest sums that he is prepared to
lend; and
(f) a statement of the date on
which the business carried on by
him was first established.
(3) Where any document issued or
published by or on behalf of a
moneylender purports to indicate
the terms of interest upon which
he is willing to make loans or any
particular loan, the document
shall either express the interest
proposed to be charged in terms of
a rate per centum per annum or
show the rate per centum per annum
represented by the interest
proposed to be charged as
calculated in accordance with the
provisions of Schedule A or B.
(4) Any person acting in
contravention of any of the
provisions of this section shall
be liable to imprisonment for
three months or to a fine of fifty
pounds or to both such
imprisonment and fine.
(5) Where it is shown that a
moneylending transaction was
brought about by a contravention
of any of the provisions of this
section, the transaction shall be
illegal, unless the moneylender
proves that the contravention
occurred without his consent or
connivance.
Section 22—Notice and Information
to be given on Assignment of
Moneylenders Debts.
(1) Where any debt in respect of
money lent by a moneylender,
whether before or after the
commencement of this Ordinance, or
in respect of interest on any such
debt or the benefit of any
agreement made or security taken
in respect of any such debt or
interest is assigned to any
assignee, the assignor (whether he
is the moneylender by whom the
money was lent or any person to
whom the debt has been previously
assigned) shall, before the
assignment is made —
(a) give to the assignee notice in
writing that the debt, agreement
or security is affected by the
operation of this Ordinance; and
(b) supply to the assignee all
information necessary to enable
him to comply with the provisions
of this Ordinance relating to the
obligation to supply information
as to the state of loans and
copies of documents relating
thereto;
and any person acting in
contravention of any of the
provisions of this section shall
be liable to indemnify any other
person who is prejudiced by the
contravention, and shall also in
respect of each offence be liable
to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to a fine
not exceeding one hundred pounds.
(2) In this section the expression
"assigned" means assigned by any
assignment inter vivos other than
an assignment by operation of law,
and the expressions "assignor" and
"assignee" have corresponding
meanings.
Section 23—Application of
Ordinance as Respects Assignees.
(1) Subject as hereinafter
provided, the provisions of this
Ordinance shall continue to apply
to any debt to a moneylender in
respect of money lent by him after
the commencement of this Ordinance
or in respect of interest on money
so lent or of the benefit of any
agreement made or security taken
in respect of any such debt or
interest, notwithstanding that the
debt or benefit of the agreement
or security may have been assigned
to any assignee, and, except where
the context otherwise requires,
references in this Ordinance to a
moneylender shall accordingly be
construed as including any such
assignee as aforesaid:
Provided that notwithstanding
anything in this Ordinance—
(i)
any agreement with, or security
taken by, a moneylender in
respect of money lent by him after
the commencement of this Ordinance
shall be valid in favour of any
bona fide assignee or holder for
value without notice of any defect
due to the operation of this
Ordinance and of any person
deriving title under him; and
(ii) any payment or transfer of
money or property made bona fide
by any person, whether acting in a
fiduciary capacity or otherwise,
on the faith of the validity of
any such agreement or security,
without notice of any such defect
shall, in favour of that person,
be as valid as it would have been
if the agreement or security had
been valid; and
(iii) the provision of this
Ordinance limiting the time for
proceedings in respect of money
lent shall not apply to any
proceedings in respect of any such
agreement or security commenced by
a bona fide assignee or holder for
value without notice that the
agreement or security was affected
by the operation of this
Ordinance, or by any person
deriving title under him;
but in every such case the
moneylender shall be liable to
indemnify the borrower or any
other person who is prejudiced by
virtue of this section and nothing
in this proviso shall render valid
an agreement or security in favour
of, or apply to proceedings
commenced by, an assignee or
holder for value who is himself a
moneylender.
(2) Nothing in this section shall
render valid for any purpose any
agreement, security, or other
transaction which would, apart
from the provisions of this
Ordinance, have been void or
unenforceable.
Section 24—Moneylender to Produce
Statement of Account in
Proceedings.
(1) Where proceedings are taken in
any Court by any person for the
recovery of any money lent, or the
enforcement of any agreement or
security made or taken in respect
of money lent, the plaintiff shall
produce a statement of his
account as prescribed in section
20.
Power of Court to Determine
Contract.
(2) Where in any such proceedings
there is evidence which satisfies
the Court that default in payment
of any sum due to the plaintiff
under a contract for the loan of
money has been made by the
borrower and it is proved that any
further amount is outstanding
under the contract but not yet
due, the Court may determine the
contract and order the principal
outstanding to be paid to the
plaintiff with such interest
thereon, if any, as the Court may
allow up to the date of payment.
Application to all Moneylending
Transactions.
(3) The foregoing provisions of
this section shall apply to any
transaction which, whatever its
form may be, is substantially one
of moneylending.
Bona Fide Assignee.
(4) Nothing in the foregoing
provisions of this section shall
affect the rights of any bona fide
assignee or holder for value
without notice.
Existing Powers of Court.
(5) Nothing in this section shall
be construed as derogating from
the existing powers or
jurisdiction of any Court.
Section 25—Inducing Borrowing by
False Statements.
If any moneylender, or any person
being a manager, agent or clerk of
a moneylender, or a director,
manager or other officer of any
corporation carrying on the
business of a moneylender by any
false, misleading, or deceptive
statement, representation, or
promise, or by any dishonest
concealment of material facts,
fraudulently induces or attempts
to induce any person to borrow
money or to agree to the terms on
which money is or is to be
borrowed, shall be liable to
imprisonment for any term not
exceeding six months, or to a fine
not exceeding one hundred pounds.
Section 26—Penalty for Taking
Promissory Note in which Amount is
Left Blank or not Truly Stated.
(1) Any moneylender who shall take
as security for any loan, a
promissory note or other contract
for the repayment of money lent in
which the principal is to the
knowledge of the lender not truly
stated, or is left blank, shall be
guilty of an offence, and shall be
liable to a fine not exceeding one
hundred pounds or in the event of
a second or subsequent conviction
to imprisonment for three months
or a fine of one hundred pounds or
both:
Provided that if the offender be a
body corporate that body corporate
shall be liable on summary
conviction for a second or
subsequent offence to a fine of
five hundred pounds.
(2) Every such promissory note or
other contract in respect of which
an offence has been committed
under this section shall, subject
to the provisions of section 23,
be void and unenforceable.
Section 27—Protection of Lenders
Against Frivolous and Vexatious
Actions.
(1) In any civil proceedings in
which a borrower pleads any of the
provisions of this Ordinance
(whether in any plaint, defence,
or other pleading, or in any
affidavit or application for the
purpose of obtaining leave to
defend any action) if the Court is
satisfied that such plea was not
made in good faith, but was made
for the purpose of delaying or
harassing the moneylender, the
Court may, in addition to any
penalties incurred under any other
law, order such borrower to pay
for the benefit of the moneylender
a sum not exceeding five pounds by
way of compensation and the costs
incurred by the moneylender in the
proceeding to such an amount as
shall be determined by the Court,
and every such sum so ordered to
be paid shall be added to the
amount of the judgment recoverable
by the moneylender.
(2) In any criminal proceeding
instituted against a moneylender
for a breach of any provision of
this Ordinance, if the Court is
satisfied that the charge was made
maliciously, frivolously, or
vexatiously, it may direct that a
sum not exceeding five pounds by
way of compensation and the costs
of the accused to such an amount
as shall be determined by the
Court shall be paid by the
informer or complainant, and any
amount so ordered to be paid shall
be recoverable for the benefit of
the accused in the same manner as
a fine imposed by the Court.
Section 28—Common Informers
Compounding Information.
If any person lays a complaint for
an offence alleged to have been
committed against this Ordinance
by which he was not personally
aggrieved, and afterwards directly
or indirectly receives, without
the permission of a Court, any sum
of money or other reward for
compounding, delaying, or
withdrawing the complaint, he
shall for such offence be liable
to a fine not exceeding fifty
pounds.
Section 29—Limitation of Time for
Proceedings in Respect of Money
Lent by Moneylenders.
No proceedings shall lie for the
recovery by a moneylender of any
money lent by him after the
commencement of this Ordinance, or
of any interest in respect
thereof, or for the enforcement of
any agreement made or security
taken after the commencement of
this Ordinance in respect of any
loan made by him, unless the
proceedings are commenced before
the expiration of twelve months
from the date on which the cause
of action accrued:
Provided that —
(a) if during the period of twelve
months aforesaid or at any time
within any subsequent period
during which proceedings may by
virtue of this proviso be brought,
the debtor acknowledges in writing
the amount due and gives a written
undertaking to the moneylender to
pay that amount, proceedings for
the recovery of the amount due may
be brought at any time within a
period of twelve months from the
date of the acknowledgment and
undertaking;
(b) the time limited by the
foregoing provisions of this
section for the commencement of
proceedings shall not begin to run
in respect of any payments from
time to time becoming due to a
moneylender under a contract for
the loan of money until a cause of
action accrues in respect of the
last payment becoming due under
the contract;
(c) if at the date on which the
cause of action accrues or on
which any such acknowledgment and
undertaking as aforesaid is given
by the debtor, the person entitled
to take the proceedings is non
compos mentis, the time limited by
the foregoing provisions of this
section for the commencement of
proceedings shall not begin to run
until that person ceases to be non
compos mentis or dies, whichever
first occurs; and
(d) if at the date on which the
cause of action accrues or on
which any such acknowledgment and
undertaking as aforesaid is given
by the debtor, the debtor is not
in the Gold Coast, the time
limited by the foregoing
provisions of this section for the
commencement of proceedings shall
not begin to run until he returns
to the Gold Coast.
Section 30—Power of Governing in
Council to make Regulations.
The Governor in Council may make
regulations —
(1) Prescribing the procedure to
be followed in making applications
for certificates.
(2) Prescribing the form of
notices to be given of intention
to make application for
certificates.
(3) Prescribing the form of the
certificate.
(4) Prescribing the form of
moneylender's licence.
(5) Regulating the issue of
licences to moneylenders.
(6) Establishing a Registry Office
for the registration of licences
issued under the Ordinance.
(7) Appointing a Registrar of
Moneylenders and such assistants
to the Registrar as may be
necessary.
(8) Providing for the supply of
information to the Registrar of
Moneylenders relating to the
issue, suspension and cancellation
of licences and the
disqualification of any person
from holding a licence.
(9) Providing for the supply to
any person of an extract of any
particulars registered in the
Registry and prescribing the fees
to be paid therefor.
(10) Generally for the better
carrying into effect of the
purposes of this Ordinance.
SCHEDULES.
SCHEDULE A.
(Sections 16 and 21(3).)
CALCULATION OF INTEREST WHERE THE
INTEREST CHARGED ON A LOAN IS NOT
EXPRESSED IN TERMS OF A RATE.
1. The amount of principal
outstanding at any time shall be
taken to be the balance remaining
after deducting from the principal
the total of the portions of any
payments appropriated to principal
in accordance with the provisions
of this Ordinance.
2. The several amounts taken to be
outstanding by way of principal
during the several periods ending
on dates on which payments are
made, shall be multiplied in each
case by the number of calendar
months during which those amounts
are taken to be respectively
outstanding, and there shall be
ascertained the aggregate amount
of the sum so produced.
3. The total amount of the
interest shall be divided by
one-twelfth part of the aggregate
amount mentioned in paragraph 2 of
this Schedule, and the quotient,
multiplied by one hundred, shall
be taken to be the rate of
interest per centum per annum.
4. If having regard to the
intervals between successive
payments it is desired so to do,
the calculation of interest may be
made by reference to weeks instead
of months, and in such case the
foregoing paragraph shall have
effect as though in paragraph 2
the word "weeks" were substituted
for the words "calendar months",
and in paragraph 3 the words
"one-fifty-second" were
substituted for the words
"one-twelfth."
5. Where any interval between
successive payments is not a
number of complete weeks or
complete months, the foregoing
paragraphs shall have effect as
though one day were one-seventh
part of a week or one-thirtieth
part of a month, as the case may
be.
SCHEDULE B.
(Sections 16 and 21(3).)
Formula to be used to find the
rate per centum per annum where no
rate is stated, and repayment is
to be made by equal instalments at
equal intervals of time.
100 x I x 24
N
+ I x P x L
Where I = Total interest repayable
N
= Number of instalments
P
= Principal
L
= Number of calendar months in the
intervals between instalments.
SCHEDULE C.
(Section 20).
TABLE 1.—PRINCIPAL AND
INTEREST—SUBSECTION 1 (a).
Principal. Date
lent. Rate per cent per
annum or the amount of
interest.
£
1. s.
d.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
TABLE 2—REPAYMENT—SUBSECTION 1
(b).
Amount repaid. Amount of
Interest paid. Date
due.
£
1. s. d.
£ s.
d.
TABLE 3—AMOUNT OF
ARREARS—SUBSECTION 1 (c).
Principal. Date Due.
Interest. Date
due.
£
1. s. d.
£
s. d.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
TABLE 4—SUMS NOT YET
DUE—SUBSECTION 1 (d).
Principal. Date due.
Interest. Date
due.
£
1. s.
d. £
s. d.
As amended by
MONEYLENDERS ORDINANCE (AMENDMENT)
DECREE, 1966, (NLCD 88)1
MONEYLENDERS ORDINANCE (AMENDMENT)
LAW, 1983, (PNDCL 57)2
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
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