‘No cause for alarm’; Menzgold explains delays in dividend payments

Gold dealership, Menzgold, says delays in the payment of dividends to some clients have come about as a result of a systems upgrade, assuring clients that there is no cause for alarm.

The company explains that it is changing its system from the counter-top payment of interests to payment through banks.

The explanation by the gold trading firm comes on the back of reports Monday that some client of its clients were raising issues with several days’ delay in the payment of their latest dividend.

Speaking to Myjoyonline.com Monday, Head of Communications of Menzgold, George Quaye, said the change over from paying the dividends in cash to bank transfer is part of ongoing consultations with regulators in a bid to streamline its operations.

“A lot of changes are going. We are in consultations with the Bank of Ghana and the Minerals Commission. We also realised that some of the account details [provided by clients] were faulty so they have come back to correct them in the system,” George Quaye explained.

He, however, stated that the delays are not widespread as the news report on Monday sought to put out.

“About 80 of our clients have received their extra value. There is no problem,” he assured.

He wants clients to contact the company’s client service to resolve concerns they may have.

The gold dealership has been in the news recently over concerns that its business module flouts its operating licence.

The company essentially offers an investor the opportunity to make huge returns – some 7% every month – on whatever has been invested. Menzgold converts the cash an investor puts into the scheme into equivalent gold tokens. These tokens are then deposited with the dealership for the monthly interests to kick in.

Touted by some as an innovative business module needing support, the company claims it trades the gold the investor has willingly agreed to deposit with them on the international market. Many doubt this claim on grounds that the returns on trading gold on the international market does not fetch enough returns to allow Menzgold to give 7% a month as returns to its investors in Ghana.

The Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) have faulted the company’s activities, while a section of the public think the business module resembles a Ponzi Scheme.

Last month, the central bank issued a notice cautioning the public against doing business with Menzgold Company Limited.