finance


Alarm over radio loan


Henry Bonsu claims safeguards were ignored when he guaranteeed a loan to a broadcaster. David Hencke reports


A


journalist is taking his fight against one of the country’s largest banks to the High Court over a debt he incurred


when the media company where he was a director, Colourful Radio, went into liquidation in 2014. Henry Bonsu, a 52-year-old broadcaster, has been caught up in a legal battle with HSBC for six years over a £30,000 loan secured by a signed personal guarantee in 2009. He is now facing a £78,000 bill from HSBC for their legal costs and interest on the loan after losing a county court case in December. Following an adverse judgment from the county court judge, he has filed papers seeking permission to appeal the case at the High Court and is running a crowdfunding appeal, which has attracted support from many prominent TV and print journalists as well as Lord Digby Jones, a former trade minister and director general of the Confederation of British Industry. The case highlights the treatment of


small businesses by the big banks and some of the events surrounding the case seem Kafkaesque. He believes he has “been stitched up”. Superficially, the case is simple. Bonsu signed a bank document and gave his personal guarantee for a loan to support Colourful Radio. Colourful Radio went bust and the bank demanded its money back from him because he had signed the guarantee. Colourful Radio is now back in business debt free. But, as the court case revealed, the


situation was more complex. In their evidence, Bonsu’s lawyers claimed that matters were not straightforward. They


08 | theJournalist


said the founder of Colourful Radio, Kofi Kusitor, had placed undue influence on him to get the loan and an agreement with him absolved him from paying it back. The bank also declined to produce as witnesses four bank officials who were handling the loan who could be scrutinised to see if the bank had followed proper procedures in granting it. This included the crucial point as to whether the bank had insisted, as it should, that he got independent advice before signing the guarantee. Kusitor could also have been called as witness as he signed a similar loan with a guarantee at the same time. The bank’s lawyers challenged the


claim that Bonsu had been put under undue influence by Kusitor or that they had any agreement not to pursue Kusitor for an earlier loan taken out for £30,000 when Henry Bonsu was not working for it. However, they did not say that Kusitor had got a further loan with a personal guarantee in 2009 at the same time as Bonsu signed his. Evidence by one bank witness to the trial said Bonsu was accompanied by another man she did not know and she did not see him sign a loan guarantee document. However, while Kusitor vehemently denied putting any influence on Bonsu to get a loan in a public Facebook post, he says he did get a loan at the same time as Bonsu.


The bank also said Bonsu had got a


solicitor to witness his personal guarantee and this amounted to getting independent legal advice. The judge found for the bank,


ordered Bonsu to pay the money plus interest and costs and refused an appeal.


Lord Jones, who has given him £2,000


towards his crowdfunding, said: “The bank have behaved unconscionably over this. Nowadays, such a procedure would not happen. The bank officials who handled this should have been at court and asked questions about exactly what happened.” It is understood that efforts to get the bank to change its mind went to the top but that it decided to leave it to its lawyers to get the money.


HSBC did not comment on Lord


“ ”


The bank officials who handled this should have been at court and asked questions about exactly what happened


Jones’ criticism. A spokesman from the bank said: “The judge did not accept Mr Bonsu’s criticisms of HSBC and the evidence he gave at trial. In his view, the guarantee was valid and Mr Bonsu was fully aware of the effect, scope, contents and potential consequences of signing the guarantee so ordered him to repay the debt he owed in addition to interest and costs. Mr Bonsu asked the judge on the day for permission to appeal the judgment but this was refused as having no prospect of success. We await the outcome of any further application Mr Bonsu makes to ask for permission to appeal the findings.”


https://uk.gofundme.com/f/ henry-bonsu-defence-fund


BA CRAWFORD


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