SEC dismisses pleas by Menzgold customers to be included in bailout package

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it cannot grant a request by customers of Menzgold Ghana Limited to be included in a bailout for depositors of collapsed fund management firms.

The Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold last week made a passionate plea to the SEC to include its members to the list of financial sector cleanup victims who are expected to benefit from a government-sponsored bailout.

“We write on behalf of members of the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers to request that customers of Menzgold Company Limited be made part of the beneficiaries of the bailout fund for depositors of collapsed institutions by Securities and Exchange Commission,” the aggrieved Menzgold customers said in a statement.

According to the Coalition, 60 of their members have died as a result of their locked-up funds while several others have been bedridden following the SEC’s order to Menzgold to stop operating over regulatory infractions.

The government’s bailout is mainly targeted at the clients of some 53 fund management companies that also collapsed.

Customers of 22 out of the 53 companies are expected to be the first beneficiaries.

In all, a total of GH¢16.4 billion is expected to go into the bailout.

However, in a letter declining the request of the Menzgold customers, SEC explained that the target of the bailout is clearly defined and does not cover Menzgold customers.

The letter further informed customers that Menzgold was not an asset management company regulated by it.

The SEC ordered Menzgold to suspend aspects of its operations in 2018.

Since then, Menzgold has struggled to pay its customers their monies.

The Commission recently disclosed that the government is set to announce a bailout package for clients of the now 50 defunct Fund Management Companies.

The bailout package is expected to be given in phases with the first phase covering clients of 22 companies currently under official liquidation.