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- Cola Holdings denies fraud allegations, vows vigorous defence
Ghanaian businessman and former presidential candidate, Nana Kwame Bediako, has returned to the United Kingdom High Court seeking to overturn a $14.9 million judgment obtained against him by London-based Cola Holdings Limited, alleging that the document relied upon to establish his liability carried a forged signature.
Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, is challenging the January 2025 judgment on the grounds that a deed of indemnity presented during the original proceedings was allegedly procured through fraud, insisting that he neither signed nor authorised the document which purportedly committed him to repaying part of an $18 million loan obtained for a major property development in Ghana.
According to a report by The Times of London, the businessman, who contested Ghana’s 2024 presidential election, has filed a fresh claim asking the court to set aside the judgment and award him compensation for losses he allegedly suffered as a result of the ruling.
At the centre of the dispute is No. 1 Oxford Street, a luxury property development comprising 108 serviced apartments in Accra, undertaken through a business relationship between Bediako and Azad Cola, a member of the London-based Cola family.
The two businessmen, whose commercial relationship reportedly dates back to 2009, were involved in the development, which was partly financed through an $18 million loan arranged by the Cola family from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank.
Following difficulties in servicing the facility, the loan was called in April 2023, prompting Cola Holdings to seek recovery of funds it maintained Bediako was contractually obligated to repay.
The company subsequently instituted legal proceedings in London, relying on a deed of indemnity allegedly executed by Bediako as evidence that he had accepted responsibility for half of the outstanding loan obligation.
On January 23, 2025, the High Court entered judgment against him for $14,928,314.70, with interest accruing at eight per cent annually.
However, in his latest legal challenge, Bediako is questioning the authenticity of the deed, dated January 18, 2018, maintaining that the signature attributed to him was not made by him and that he had no knowledge of how it came to appear on the document.
His lawyers have also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the purported execution of the agreement, particularly because their client maintains that he was in Nigeria on the date the document was allegedly signed at his office in Accra.
The legal team contends that an electronic version of Bediako’s signature may have been inserted into the document without his knowledge or consent, thereby raising questions about the validity of the instrument used to establish his financial liability.
The fresh court filing also raises questions about the role of Bediako’s former executive assistant, Reginald Sittie, who allegedly maintained professional relationships with both businessmen during the period under dispute.
According to the claim, Azad Cola gave Sittie a Rolex wristwatch in the spring of 2018, an allegation Bediako’s lawyers have cited in questioning the nature of the relationship between the two men and whether the former assistant acted independently in matters involving their business dealings.
Bediako, however, has expressly stated that he is not accusing either man of bribery, although his legal team maintains that the circumstances surrounding the gift and the assistant’s relationship with Cola deserve scrutiny.
The businessman is also questioning whether Cola Holdings knew, or was recklessly indifferent to, the alleged irregularities surrounding the document presented in the original proceedings.
He is consequently seeking an order setting aside the judgment and compensation for what he describes as substantial losses arising from the earlier court decision.
Cola Holdings has, however, strongly rejected the allegations, maintaining that the claims against the company and the Cola family are unfounded.
Speaking on behalf of the company, Lawrence Cartier said the family categorically denied the allegations and would present a comprehensive defence before the UK High Court.
The legal confrontation has also extended to Ghana, where Cola Holdings has pursued enforcement of the London judgment and separate receivership proceedings involving No. 1 Oxford Street.
In July 2026, a Ghanaian High Court dismissed an application by Bediako seeking to restrain enforcement of the British judgment pending an appeal and awarded costs against him.
The Accra property, which commenced operations shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, has also reportedly stopped accepting reservations amid the continuing dispute.
Bediako, founder of Kwarleyz Group, Wonda World and the New Africa Foundation, built his business interests across real estate, construction, energy and hospitality before venturing into national politics as a candidate in Ghana’s 2024 presidential election.
The latest proceedings now place the authenticity of the disputed indemnity document before the UK High Court, with Bediako seeking to establish that the signature relied upon to secure the multimillion-dollar judgment was not his, while Cola Holdings insists that the allegations are without merit.
