Following allegations that the financial struggles of Merchant Bank were partly due to significant debts owed by Engineers and Planners, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, a document showing the receipt of full payment from Engineers and Planners has surfaced online. The document showed that Merchant Bank (Ghana) Limited confirmed receipt of the negotiated settlement amount of US$28 million from AFREXIM Bank in favor of Engineers and Planners Company Limited on January 31, 2014. "In accordance with Clause 3 of the said Agreement, we, Merchant Bank (Ghana) Limited, hereby confirm receipt of the negotiated settlement amount of USD 28 million from AFREXIM Bank in favor of Engineers and Planners Company Limited on January 31, 2014. We hereby authorize you to date the Deed of Release and forward the same to AFREXIM Bank in accordance with the terms of the Agreement. "We are pleased to inform you that the Bank has indeed received an amount of US$28.0 million through a SWIFT advice dated January 31, 2014, from African Export and Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) into our Citibank Account #36056153 in full settlement of your indebtedness to Merchant Bank Ghana Limited," it added. Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, in his book titled 'The President Ghana Never Got,' has stirred conversations over the 2013 sale of Merchant Bank, now known as Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), and the alleged involvement of Ibrahim Mahama. In the book, he explained that the sale of Merchant Bank to the private equity firm Fortiz was shrouded in controversy.