The Commercial Division of the Accra High Court has quashed an ex-parte order directing the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) to wind up Zeepay Ghana Limited, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant the order because the regulator used the wrong legal procedure.
Justice Samuel Faraday Johnson, who presided over both proceedings, ruled on Thursday, July 30, 2026, that the ORC should have applied to the court by way of a petition rather than an originating motion.
The ruling effectively nullifies the ex-parte orders the ORC obtained on July 17, 2026, without notice to Zeepay’s lawyers.
ORC Order Set Aside
The original order authorised the ORC to wind up Zeepay, act as liquidator of the company’s assets, freeze its bank accounts and take control of its digital records, databases and system access codes.
It also directed any person or entity holding assets belonging to Zeepay to hand them over to the ORC.
The orders were granted for 10 days and were due to expire on July 30, with the ORC having the option to seek an extension.
The ORC told the court that its action followed the Bank of Ghana’s decision on July 14 to revoke Zeepay’s Dedicated Electronic Money Issuer (DEMI) licence.
The central bank had said the revocation was necessary because the company had become “a threat to the stability of the payment system.”
However, the revocation of the licence did not, in itself, automatically require Zeepay to be wound up, particularly as the company operates other business lines.
Zeepay Learns of Order During ORC Visit
During the 10-day period covered by the order, ORC officials visited Zeepay’s offices at Cantonments in Accra and sought to take control of the premises.
The officials also requested access codes to the company’s digital systems, but staff declined to hand them over.
According to Zeepay’s lawyers, it was during the visit that the company’s directors first became aware of the July 17 order and the manner in which it had been obtained.
Zeepay subsequently applied to the court to have the order set aside.
Representing Zeepay, lawyer Kwesi Fynn argued that the ORC was required to proceed by petition rather than an originating motion and that its failure to follow the prescribed procedure deprived the court of jurisdiction.
Counsel for the ORC, Benjamin Zigorsh Nyakpenu, argued that subsidiary legislation permitted the regulator to seek the orders ex parte.
Justice Johnson, however, sided with Zeepay and ruled that the applicable substantive legislation required the ORC to proceed by petition.
He consequently quashed all the orders made on July 17.
Ruling Does Not Determine Zeepay’s Future
The court’s decision was based on jurisdiction and procedure, rather than a determination of whether Zeepay should ultimately be wound up.
The fintech company continues to face separate legal and regulatory challenges, including a pending creditor’s winding-up petition and a multimillion-dollar civil judgment that is currently under appeal.
Zeepay’s lawyers have said the July 17 order caused significant harm to the company and indicated that the matter will be pursued further in a separate forum.
Zeepay, a Ghanaian-founded fintech company, provides cross-border remittance and mobile money services across more than 20 African markets.
