EOCO probes Menzgold

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has commenced what could be a possible investigation into the activities of Menzgold Ghana Limited, a commodity trading company.

This follows an invitation of the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Nana Appiah Mensah to the office of the anti-graft body for questioning.

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), K.K. Amoah, who confirmed the invitation, however, is tight-lipped on what the nature of the questioning is.

But DAILY GUIDE sources say it could be in connection with the directive issued by the Bank of Ghana which cautioned the general public about the unlawful activities of Menzgold which it says is taking deposits – a transaction it is not licensed for.

The Central Bank, in a notice on Monday, August 6, indicated that Menzgold’s deposit-taking activities are in breach of Section 6 (1) of Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act 2016 (Act 930) as it has not been licensed to take deposits.

“The Bank of Ghana wishes to notify the general public that in spite of several cautions to Menzgold Ghana Company Limited to desist from the solicitation, receipt of money and the payment of dividends to its clients, the company persists in its deposit-taking activity in breach of section 6 (1) of the banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Acts, 2016 (Act 930).

The Bank of Ghana wishes to reiterate that Menzgold Ghana Limited is not licensed and has no authority to engage in the solicitation, receipt of money or investments and the payment of dividends or returns to its clients”, the BoG statement indicated.

The statement noted that Bank of Ghana is in discussions with other relevant regulatory authorities towards the taking of appropriate action against the company.

Menzgold Reaction

The management of Menzgold later released a strong-worded statement in which it denied the BoG claims, saying they have always operated within the remits of their license.

According to the statement, the company does not accept deposits from customers or carry out any deposit-taking business in Ghana.

It said the activities of Menzgold Ghana Limited is limited to allowing customers to purchase gold or deal in gold as an alternative investment and the Bank of Ghana is very much aware of this as a fact.

The statement therefore described the BoG statement as unfortunate and assured the general public that doing business with the company is safe.

“Menzgold Ghana finds it unfortunate and disparaging that the Bank of Ghana with whom we have had a number of engagements over the years and taken them through our business procedures would still issue such a statement. Unfortunate and insensitive as the statement may be, we are resolved and even keener to continue to deliver the best of service to our customers in Ghana and beyond”, the statement noted.

BoG ‘Joke’

In the early hours of the BoG statement which criticised the activities of Menzgold Ghana Limited, its CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah, took to social media to describe the statement as the “joke of the day” and asked the Central Bank to tell Ghanaians how the five banks collapsed rather than diverting attention to them.

The CEO of Menzgold in a message on his twitter page wrote, “Today’s Joke: Bank of Ghana, so now you dey do propaganda…I beg paa. Tell Ghanaians exactly what happened with the 5 or so collapsed banks you duly licensed & supervised for years. Please don’t attempt to use our dear Menzgold to cover up… I beg make we think!”