Court bailiff, Ghana police confiscate Euroget’s assets

Euroget De-invest fails to pay constructors

Euroget De-invest in charge of constructing hospitals in Ghana

The movable and immovable assets of Egyptian hospital engineering group, Euroget De-Invest, has been confiscated after an US$8-million-dollar judgment debt case was brought against them in the construction of two hospitals in the Ashanti region.

This comes after the International Court of Arbitration in London of the International Chamber of Commerce ordered the firm constructing a number of hospitals in Ghana, Euroget De-Invest S.A., to pay one of its subcontractors, Top International Engineering Ghana Limited, more than US$8 million, representing outstanding balance and interests.

The dispute between the two firms is connected to two hospitals being constructed by Euroget — the 500-bed military hospital at Afari, Kumasi, and the 60-bed hospital in Konongo – both in the Ashanti Region.

The action executed by court bailiffs and the Ghana Police Service, had all cars of the Egyptian company seized, with lawyers of the litigating firm, Top Engineering, threatening to go after Euroget’s assets until the full amount is paid.

Top Engineering, provided engineering services at the military hospital at a contract sum of more than US$12 million, but Euroget paid it US$7.5 million.

About the hospital in Konongo, Top Engineering said the contract sum was more than US$7.5 million dollars but Euroget paid it US$4.8 million dollars.

In 2017, Top Engineering dragged Euroget to the Accra High Court, claiming breach of contract and seeking payment of the balance of the contract sum.

In October 2017, the High Court stayed proceedings and ordered the case sent to an arbitration panel of the Ghana Institution of Engineering for determination.

In September 2018, the arbitration panel of the Ghana Institution of Engineering gave its decision and gave an arbitration award in favour of Top Engineering.

Euroget rejected the decision of the arbitration panel and served Top Engineering with a notice of dissatisfaction.

The court ordered a freeze of Euroget’s account with a little over US$700,000 realized to defray the cost.

The court also added that all movable and immovable assets, vehicles and other properties of Euroget De-invest be seized for auction to defray the cost of the fees adding up to US$8 million.

For hours, the lawyers of Euroget held the bailiffs in an attempt to negotiate with them not to execute, but the bailiffs stood their ground.

The bailiffs requested Euroget De-Invest to sign the court inventory documents of all the vehicles of the firm, but officials declined.

At the execution of the action, workers attempted to prevent the bailiffs, but they insisted and carried out their duty by towing the vehicles away.