Politicising MenzGold saga much ado about nothing – Afenyo-Markin

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the Effutu Constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin says the ‘political fuss’ customers of gold firm, Menzgold Ghana Ltd. are making about the CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM 1) and monies owed them is needless and really pointless.

He believes the subject should be handled more appropriately; customers must calm their nerves and act rationally instead of promoting violence.

“For customers or clients of Menzgold, they should remain calm, their violent approach is needless. And for those who think they can politicize it, I tell them it is much ado about nothing”, he said during an interview on Accra-based Okay FM.

The Lawyer who is advocating against prosecution of NAM 1 says it could be a hazardous move. He is convinced that pursuing the matter on criminal basis will put customers at risk of losing all their investments.

“[With] criminal prosecution, let’s tread cautiously. Even in advanced jurisdictions, the government will prefer to cut a deal to save a situation than to rush to court and begin a criminal prosecution,” he noted.

" . . If you prosecute the man, and you look at the Financial Task-force Regulation, there is a strong recommendation for a civil forfeiture procedure in matters as complicated as we find it now. Again, you wouldn’t get what you want," he added.

Background

The Ghana Police Service and the Economic and Organised Crime Office, have revealed that the CEO of the troubled gold trading firm, Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, is currently facing misdemeanour charges in Dubai, after which he will be brought to Ghana if he’s cleared of all the charges levelled against him.

According to the joint statement signed by the Ghana Police service and EOCO, Nam 1’s next court hearing is on February 2, 2019.

An Accra Circuit Court issued a warrant for his arrest last week but a press release by the police Monday indicates that NAM1 has already been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital on December 7 after “a gold deal gone wrong.”