ZEEPAY FOUNDER FIGHTS FIRE WITH PAPER

Facing $11.6m judgment and a collapsed Caribbean subsidiary, Andrew Takyi-Appiah sends Ghost Lawyers With Empty Threat to bully a newspaper.

TNR News Desk Report

Andrew Takyi-Appiah built Zeepay into a glittering fintech brand. He spoke at Davos. He posed with presidents. He potrays himself as elegant and rich, acquiring mansions, luxury cars, expensive watches and promising to build “Africa’s fintech future, one brick at a time.”

Behind the gloss, the wheels were coming off. On 16 April 2026, the Commercial Division of the High Court ordered Zeepay and its founder to pay USD 11.58 million, EUR 8,500 and GHS 1.4 million to a broker whose money Zeepay had received but “failed to execute”. Worse, the court found that client funds were “mostly made into 2nd Defendant Respondent’s personal mobile money wallet” – Takyi-Appiah’s personal phone number, not a corporate account.

The CFO had resigned in February with a blast copied to EOCO and the Bank of Ghana, warning of “material weaknesses and abuse” in treasury operations. Ernst & Young had withdrawn from the 2024 audit, citing “serious concerns over the quality and reliability of information”. In Barbados, the subsidiary Zeemoney had its licence suspended and applied to wind up, closing four branches.

When The New Republic published these facts on 9 and 11 June under the headlines “Zeepay Collapses in Barbados” and “‘Ponzi Zeepay’ Casts in NAM1 Playbook” Takyi-Appiah did not issue a point-by-point rebuttal. He did not supply contrary documents. Instead, he sent lawyers.

The letter arrived on 12 June, addressed to the editor. It demanded an immediate retraction, a takedown from all platforms, and a “prominent apology with equal or greater visibility” within 48 hours. It accused the paper of publishing “complete falsehoods, fabrications, misrepresentation”.

There was only one problem: the lawyers refused to name themselves.

The letterhead read “BLG Practice… The Business Law Group”. But the signature line was blank no name, no partner, no responsible solicitor. When the firm called the newspaper, a woman named Pearl said her boss wanted to speak. The managing editor, David Tamakoe, was connected to a male voice who introduced himself only as “Alex”. Only after repeated prompting did he add his surname.

“Alex” is not a name that commands legal credibility. Neither is an unsigned letter.

What the letter did not say

Nowhere in the two-page demand did the ghost lawyers identify a single factual error. They did not dispute the High Court’s finding that Zeepay routed client money through the MD’s personal wallet. They did not deny the CFO’s resignation letter or EY’s walkout. They did not challenge the Barbados licence suspension or the winding-up petition from Obsidian Achernar (claiming an unpaid debt of US$1,223,250).

Instead, they complained of “reputational damage”, “unwarranted public suspicion” and “extreme prejudicial damage” to a client already facing legal action.

That is the language of a man who has run out of arguments, not one who has been defamed.

The NAM1 Echo

Takyi-Appiah’s threat to sue for calling Zeepay a “Ponzi” is rich, given the company’s operating model. A forensic accountant who reviewed the documents put it this way: “Ponzi schemes pay returns to early investors using later capital. Zeepay promised remittance, not returns. But if you take new customer deposits to cover old settlement obligations, and you know those obligations cannot be met without new inflows, the economic effect is the same.”

The High Court did not use the P-word. But it did note that Zeepay’s own officers “acknowledged receiving the said sums but had failed to effect the transfers”. Combined with the CFO’s treasury abuse warnings and the founder’s property buying spree, the picture is unmistakable.

The New Republic Stands Firm

Ghana’s media has been cowed by legal threats before. Not this time. The New Republic has no intention of retracting, apologising, or removing the articles. Every material fact is sourced from court documents, regulatory filings, or on-the-record whistleblowers. The unsigned letter from BLG Practice changes none of that.

If Takyi-Appiah believes he has been defamed, Ghana’s courts are open. A libel trial would allow discovery into his financial records, his property acquisitions, and his correspondence with the Bank of Ghana. We would welcome that daylight.

Until then, the ghost lawyers can keep their anonymity. The story stands. And the investigation continues.

Part Three of our Zeepay series will examine the Zeepay’s Exposure in the midst of the troubles bedeviling the company, Bank of Ghana’s actions, EOCO’s moves, and the regulators who looked away.