Exclude us from Menzgold case – SEC to High Court

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is praying an Accra High Court to dissociate it from a being defendant in a case brought before it by some customers of the defunct Menzgold Gold Dealership.

The Commission has been named as a defendant in the landmark case following the collapse of the firm leaving customers’ funds locked up.

Menzgold customers, in an attempt to reclaim their lost deposits, dragged government to court over what it describes as the state’s failure to protect them against a Ponzi scheme.

About 28 of them are seeking a civil claim of ¢11 million in reliefs.

But the SEC has since moved a motion for the court to relieve them from being defendants over suggestions that “the rules of this Honourable court have not been complied with” in the plaintiff’s presentation of case.

In a latest twist, the Commission has also pleaded with the court that “action is “premature as the mandatory local or domestic remedies provided under the Securities Industries Act, 2016 (Act 929) have not been complied with by the plaintiffs.”

Meanwhile, lawyers for the aggrieved clients of the company are expected to move a motion to keep them as defendants.

Lawyer Amanda Clinton was present in court along with co-counsel Phoebe Ayitey and Bianca Clinton who on behalf of their 28 clients are suing SEC, Bank of Ghana (BoG), Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Attorney General for negligence due to their handling of Menzgold.

The court is expected to sit on Thursday, January 21, 2021, to examine the merits of the Commission’s motion.