Customers of the defunct gold dealership firm, Menzgold, hit the streets of Accra today (12 September 2022) over their four-year locked-up cash.
The aggrieved customers who gathered at the Customs Traffic Light Monday morning are convinced the government is not willing to prosecute Menzgold CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1).
After a series of press conferences and demonstrations without any end in sight, the customers have decided to petition President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
An aggrieved customer who has close to GH¢100,000 invested said he can barely afford three-square meals in this challenging and critical time that the country finds itself.
“I have almost GH¢100,000 locked up. I only have my family helping me. Things have become very unbearable for me. Today, when you call your friends, they won’t even pick up your call, thinking you are coming to ask for financial assistance.
“For the past four years, we lost our job and means of livelihood…the president has not come out to utter a word in that regard, hence today’s protest and petition. We are appealing that the president should intervene. As you can see, it’s just a few of us because transport fares have gone up, so they can’t even come and protest,” he lamented.
The customers are also concerned about the lackadaisical approach of state prosecution towards the ongoing trial of Menzgold CEO NAM1 at the Accra Circuit Court. The case, which was first called on 12 July 2019, has seen at least 18 adjournments.
On countless occasions, the reason for the adjournments was that the prosecution was still awaiting the Attorney General’s advice on proceeding with the case.
No charges have been brought against NAM 1, but he was earlier arraigned on some 61 charges, including carrying deposit business without a licence, sale of minerals without a licence, unlawful deposit-taking and money laundering.
Those charges were withdrawn by the prosecution in June 2020, with a promise to file new charges, but nothing has been filed to date.
But, quite recently, Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame assured the public that processes are in place for the trial to commence.
Another customer also said the president should have ensured that customers retrieve their investments before shutting down the company.
“Nana Addo should have ensured that we all get our monies. Some have died, others are unwell and marriages have collapsed so we want an end to all this. We beg of him,” she said in the local dialect.
Meanwhile, the office of the President has since received the petition.
“This petition will certainly be looked at. I have been asked by the president to represent him and receive this petition. Unfortunately, as I speak to you now he is addressing the Ghana Bar Association in Ho and he will continue with his tour of the Volta Region.
“So, on behalf of the president, I receive this petition. I will forward it to him when he arrives tomorrow evening and I am sure that whatever needs to be done will be done,” Director of Operations at the Jubliee House, Lord Oblitey Commey, assured.
Progress of NAM 1’s court case since he was arrested
Nana Appiah Mensah was first arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court on Friday, July 12, 2019, after months of detention in Dubai.
He was remanded for two weeks to reappear on July 26, 2019, but was granted bail that same day. He was granted bail in the sum of GH¢1 billion, with five sureties.
The trial was then set to continue in August. On August 12, 2019, the prosecution said investigations were ongoing.
There was no show on October 23, 2019, as the substantive prosecutor ASP Slyvester Asare was not present in court.
He had written formally to inform the court and prayed for an adjournment.
On November 20, 2019, state prosecutors again pleaded with the circuit court judge for a long adjournment in the trial of the Menzgold CEO.
The case was adjourned on December 23, 2019, when the prosecutor informed the court that it had sent the docket to the Attorney-General’s department for study and advice.
ASP Asare told the court the State would prefer January 2020 to commence the trial of the embattled businessman and his wife, Rose Tetteh, and his sister Benedicta Mensah. The two accomplices are still at large.
But January went by with all its promises.
On March 5, 2020, Madam Evelyn Asamoah, who was unhappy with the prosecution’s handling of the case, said she would be forced to discharge the accused persons.
An excited NAM 1, who was in court, could only stifle a smile and pray the judge make good on her promise.
On April 6, 2020, the judge, however, took leave. For some reason, the judge’s leave coincided with NAM 1’s next date, leaving NAM 1 combing the streets of Accra in his Toyota Land Cruiser.
When the judge resumed in July, it was the prosecution’s time to drag their feet. They asked for more time to conduct further investigations.
The prosecutor was expected to have filed its new charges for Nana Appiah Mensah for the court to take his plea on Monday, July 20, 2020, but it did not happen.
However, the prosecutor, ASP Asare, told the circuit court that “the principal state attorney was working seriously to advise the court concerning the case” and prayed for a long adjournment.
He added that the prosecution would inform the court of its intention.
“We also ask that in the event that the adjournment is granted and advise ready, we will issue a hearing notice to the accused persons to appear before the court to do the needful,” ASP Asare stated on Monday, July 20, 2020.
But that promise never saw the light of day.
Fast forward to November 4, 2020; the case was adjourned after the clerk announced that the judge had taken leave for the second time.
“The judge [Evelyn Asamoah] is on leave, so we have been instructed to adjourn all the cases for today, [Friday],” the clerk informed court patrons.
When she resumed on December 16, last year, the court adjourned the case following ASP Asare’s plea that investigations were still ongoing.
As it stands now, the Menzgold CEO is unaware of the charges against him since the prosecution team, on June 24, 2020, withdrew the 61 charges, which included money laundering.
At the beginning of the new year, thousands of people who had fallen victim to NAM 1’s scheme hoped justice would be served to them on a plate.
But eight months into 2021, it is the same tune that has left depositors shattered while NAM 1 smiles at his Trassaco residence.
On March 2, 2021, the trial judge warned that she would strike out the case if the prosecution did not order their house. The judge again directed that the prosecution file the necessary documents to enable the trial to commence.
But somehow, the universe appeared tilted to NAM 1’s side because the judge took leave for the third time and adjourned the case to May 27, 2021.
On May 27, 2021, the prosecutor requested more time to build a watertight case against the embattled CEO.
He came to court to woo the judge with another adjournment speech.
“At the last sitting, my lady made the orders that prosecution files the necessary processes. Be it as it may, the prosecution is unable to file the processes on time as directed by this court. We submit that, in all humility, this is not deliberate to delay or disrespect the order of this court.
“The records will show that at the last sitting, we indicated and pleaded with the court, as it is, in the interest of justice. This morning (Thursday), we are again on bended knees. Although standing, we ask that you give us the necessary ear.
“My principal (Attorney General’s office) is not sleeping on this matter. We will ensure that we file the necessary processes. We pray that in the interest of justice, my lady grants an adjournment to enable parties to put their house in order,” ASP Asare pleaded.
The trial judge conceded and adjourned to July 6, 2021.
But on July 6, 2021, NAM 1 failed to come to court due to a ‘miraculous’ cough.
The embattled businessman’s lawyer Audrey Twum who explained his absence, said, “NAM 1 has been coughing profusely and has been advised to seek medical care”.
The case was adjourned to Thursday, September 2, 2021, but the prosecutor was not present.
Lawyers for NAM 1 said the State is yet to file its processes.
On October 11, the State informed the court they were still waiting on the Attorney General’s advice on how to proceed.
It was the same tale on November 22, 2021 — the prosecution is awaiting AG’s advice on the case docket.
Facts of the case
The previous facts of the case, as presented by ASP Asare, were that in October 2018, the police received a complaint from about 16,000 people that Menzgold had convinced them to invest GH¢1.68 billion in a gold purchase scheme that yielded 10% monthly interest.
According to the prosecution, the complainants said their monies were locked up and that they could not find NAM1 and the other principal officers of Menzgold.
Investigations revealed that Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult were incorporated as limited liability companies in 2013 and 2016.
Menzgold, he said, obtained a license from the Minerals Commission in August 2016 to purchase and export gold from small-scale miners and that to successfully engage in the business, NAM 1 founded Brew Marketing Consult to be a gold buying agent.
ASP Asare said Menzgold was not licensed by the Minerals Commission to trade in gold. Notwithstanding the lack of such licence, he said, Menzgold went public after its incorporation and invited the public to deposit money for a fixed period with interest on the pretext of gold purchasing.
The prosecutor said further investigations revealed that the three accused persons were the directors and principal officers of Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult.
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