Probe Menzgold shutdown delay – Clinton

The lawyer for almost a thousand aggrieved customers of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Ms Amanda Akuokor Clinton, has asked for an inquiry into the long delay in shutting down Menzgold after the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had declared its deposit-taking operation as illegal.

Thousands of customers are still chasing their locked-up capital at the defunct gold dealership firm which promised the clients juicy monthly interest rates.

Ms Clinton told ClassFMonline.com on Friday, 12 July 2019 that considering how long the firm was allowed to run, leading to thousands falling victim, a public commission should be set up to investigate why the company was allowed to operate for five years even though the regulator started warningthe public against doing business with Menzgold from its outset.

In her opinion, mere “warnings” by the Bank of Ghana were “not enough” and wondered if Menzgold could “have been shut down earlier” to avoid all the ripple effects its operation had in the financial sector.

“Are regulators at fault and should be fined?” she questioned, as she insisted on exploring ways “to prevent this in future”.

She also wants clarity on whether Menzgold operated a Ponzi scheme.

Her comments follow the arrival of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1) in Ghana to face criminal charges levelled against him by his over 16,000 clients.

NAM1 was charged by the police and remanded into police custody to reappear in the Accra Circuit Court on 26 July 2019 after his arrival.

He is facing charges of defrauding by false pretence and also facing two counts of abetment to carry out banking business without a licence contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

His Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold Ghana Limited have also been slapped with charges of defrauding by false pretence contrary to sections 20 (1) and 13 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

The remand was granted by the court upon the request of the police in order for them to complete investigations into the case in two weeks.

He was arraigned after spending the night in the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service following his arrival in Ghana on Thursday.

The young Ghanaian businessman had been in the custody of Dubai authorities since December last year. He was arrested during his sojourn to the Emirates to collect some hefty amount owed his company by a businessman there.

NAM1, who is being sought after by both his thousands of aggrieved clients whose investments have been locked up with the company since August last year; as well as the government of Ghana, won two court cases against his rival businessman while in Dubai.

An Interpol red alert has been on NAM1’s head for several months since his detention in Dubai.

The Supreme Court of Dubai recently upheld a victory of the businessman in a lower court which ordered his Emirati businessman rival to pay the Ghanaian some $39 million and compensation.