Menzgold never funded my school – Lilwin

Actor, Kwadwo Nkansah Lilwin has refuted claims he used funds from defunct gold dealership, Menzgold, to build his school.

Exactly a year ago, the Kumasi-based actor commissioned Great Minds International School at Offinso Ahenkro in the Ashanti Region.

The preparatory school, according to Lilwin, was to provide affordable and quality education to Ghanaians. Following this vision, he pegged the fees for lower and upper primary at fifty Ghana cedis and hundred Ghana cedis respectively.

News of the amount left many people wondering how Lilwin would run the school, with several others suggesting he used funds from Menzgold to build the ultramodern facility.

Several months after the allegations were made, Lilwin has in an interview on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz said he never received funds from Menzgold for the construction of the school.

According to him, he constructed the school with his earnings.

He however reiterated that his money is locked up at the troubled gold investment firm.

In January this year, Lilwin reportedly said he invested hundred thousand Ghana cedis in Menzgold. He was also said to have expressed disappointment in the manner in which sections of the public had ridiculed affected customers as well as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1.

Menzgold crisis

NAM1 has been slapped with 13 counts of defrauding by false pretences, money laundering, abetment and carrying on deposit-taking business without licence contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

The Menzgold boss has been accused of defrauding his customers of about GHc1.68 billion. According to the charge sheet, the money was from 16,000 people who invested a total of GHc1,680,920,000 in the company.

The charge sheet indicates that Mr. Appiah Mensah’s two companies — Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold Ghana Limited; represented by him, have also been charged with defrauding by false pretence, contrary to sections 20 (1) and 13 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

Mr. Appiah Mensah’s sister and his wife, Benedicta Appiah and Rose Tetteh, have also been charged with two counts of abetment to defraud by false pretence and two counts of abetment to carry out banking business without a licence, contrary to Section 6 (1) of Act 930.

The charge sheet explained that the accused persons purportedly aided Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold to defraud the customers.