Clinton retained for Gold Coast Securities, TCL cases

More clients seemingly, are suing for their monies back from embattled Gold Coast Securities Ltd., seeking legal aid from lawyers who oversaw the Menzgold cases.

Aggrieved customers of TCL Markets Ghana Ltd. also seem to be resorting to legal advise from these lawyers.

Both companies it seems have failed to stick to their payment schedules after thousands of customers put their monies into the companies hoping to get high returns periodically.

The investments have turned sour and in terms of a payment plan, these companies are for now predominantly only paying back customers who invested the lowest amounts- between the ranges of GH¢5,0000 to GH¢10,000 only.

However some of the customers who invested in TCL Ghana Ltd and Gold Coast Securities Ltd invested upwards of US$200,000.000 each. Therefore a lot of these aggrieved and unsatisfied customers are steadily retaining attorneys in Accra, including Lawyer Amanda Akuokor Clinton who secured a number of judgements in favour of Menzgold customers.

When asked whether TCL Ghana Ltd and Gold Coast Securities Ltd are similar to Menzgold Ltd, a company that operated a sophisticated Ponzi scheme, Lawyer Clinton said “well the court will be lifting the veil in each these instances to see if indeed they found that an element of swindling was involved. Promising quick returns, paying old customers with money from new investors, luring victims, particularly high-net worth individuals into much bigger risks; are all issues that will be explored by the court.”

When asked whether the prevalence of Ponzi schemes in Ghana is similar in nature to international Ponzi schemes, Lawyer Clinton said: “What we are finding in Ponzi cases in Ghana is that they mirror those around the world. For the main aim of these companies is a long term strategy to get bigger investors by continuously paying the initial small investors consistently, which often peaks the attention and investment of wealthier customers.”

In terms of the history of the companies, in the case of TCL, the company initially operated as a deposit-taking investment institution until October 2018 when Bank of Ghana issued a disclaimer (under the Notice Number BG/GOV/SEC/2018/19) against it and other illegal institution which is against their mandate as a company.

After being confronted with BG/GOV/SEC, it changed its operating mode to cryptocurrency.

Finding revealed that all of TCL’s management is part of one and the same church called "the Unhidden Church". A name too honest for people who are now almost impossible to find and whose petty strategies cost families endless days of lamentation hoping to have their money back soon. The company misled its client into contracting with a foreign company not recognized in Ghana with its online based trading platform.

In the case of GoldCoast Securities, the Economic and Organised Crimes Unit [EOCO] began investigating the fund managers of the company in 2019 after clients complained that they were struggling to retrieve their investments.

After months of protests and petitions, the customers who are yet to get paid have also called on SEC to help them retrieve their investments.

To date both companies have not kept up with payment schedules.