Some angry clients of gold dealership firm, Menzgold, have revealed that they were convinced their investments were safe due to assurances by Ghanaian dancehall artiste Stonebwoy.
An aggrieved customer, who participated in a demonstration against the company on Tuesday, 27 November 2018, said the words of the Best Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year at 2018 All African Music Awards (AFRIMA) and BET award winner, convinced him that all was okay.
However, after several months of promises to pay them 15 per cent of their locked-up investment principals, the company has failed to live up to expectation.
“I remember Stonebwoy promised us that our money was safe,” the angry customer said during the demonstration.
He also criticised musician Becca and other ambassadors of Menzgold for keeping quiet about the plight of the customers whose investments have been locked up.
A few months ago, Stonebwoy, who is one of the top artistes signed by Zylofon Media, also owned by the CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, urged the customers to stay calm since the operations of the company will soon return to normal.
“I urge all members of Menzgold to keep calm and take it easy because the situation is under control and your gold deposits are safe and secure,” he said.
Scores of the angry customers marched through the principal street of Accra starting from the Obra Spot and ending at the Accra Hearts of Oak Park.
The customers have pleaded with the government to intervene to get Menzgold to refund their investment.
Another aggrieved customer told Class News' Ibrahim Obeng-Mensah that: “We are demonstrating against Menzgold in particular and pleading with the government to intervene. We’ve had a contractual agreement with Menzgold and there is this issue of the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that came to shut down the company.
“We became loyal to Menzgold and expected them to pay us our money. Initially we agreed they cancel the interest and pay us our principal investment within 90 days but for three months now, there has not been any payment. None of the customers of Menzgold has received their money but Menzgold is going about deceiving that they are making payment.”
Another demonstrator pleaded with the Akufo-Addo government to intervene to ensure that the company pays them their principals.
Menzgold is battling SEC and BoG over its operations. The company has dragged SEC and the BoG to court to stay away from its business, but the state agencies insist Menzgold does not have the licence to conduct business in the manner it was doing by paying dividend to clients.
The SEC, thus, asked Menzgold to shut down its operations until it complies with the laws regulating the industry.