NAM1’s 'fraud' case resumes today

The court hearing the alleged fraud case against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM1, and two others will today resume sitting.

At the last court sitting on March 2, the court warned it would be forced to strike out the case.

The court was unhappy about the delay on the part of the prosecution to file the necessary documents to commence the trial.

On that day, ASP Sylvester Asare, the prosecutor in the case, again prayed the court, to give them more time be to able to file their witness statement and other documents.

It was the case of the prosecution that, the number of victims involved in the case is over 16,000 people and therefore more time would be required by the prosecution to do the necessary investigations.

ASP Asare prayed with the court for time and begged the court not to strike out the case.

Facts

The facts, as presented by ASP Asare, are 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 per cent monthly interest.

According to him, the complainants said their money was locked up and that they could not find Nana Mensah and the other principal officers of the company.

The prosecutor said investigations revealed that Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult were incorporated as limited liability companies in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

Menzgold, he said, obtained a licence from the Minerals Commission in August 2016 to purchase and export gold from small-scale miners, and that in order to successfully engage in the business, Nana Mensah founded Brew Marketing Consult to be a gold buying agent.

ASP Asare said although Menzgold was licensed to purchase gold, it was not licensed by the Minerals Commission to trade in gold.

Notwithstanding the lack of such a 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.