Defunct Menzgold CEO Nana Appiah Mensah affectionately called NAM 1 has pleaded not guilty to 39 counts brought against him for his involvement in the alleged defrauding of some Ghanaians to the tune of GHC 1.68 billion.
This was after he made his first appearance at the Accra High Court on September 19, 2023 following his latest charges.
The court, presided over by Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa admitted NAM 1 to bail in the sum of GH¢500million, with four sureties.
As part of the bail conditions, NAM 1 has been ordered to deposit his passport with the Registrar of the Court, and also report to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) every Thursday.
The Attorney General Godfred Dame on August 30 slapped him with fresh charges
The latest charges include but are not limited to selling gold, operating a deposit-taking business without a license, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering.
Per the previous facts, in October 2018, around 16,000 individuals registered complaints with the police, claiming that Menzgold had persuaded them to invest a staggering GH¢1.68 billion in a gold purchase scheme.
Promised returns of 10% monthly interest were alluring, prompting many to invest.
However, the prosecution contends that investors were locked in a distressing situation. Their invested funds were inaccessible, and they could not locate Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1) and other key executives of Menzgold.
Investigations revealed that Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult had been established as limited liability companies in 2013 and 2016, respectively.
Menzgold, the prosecution asserts, received a license from the Minerals Commission in August 2016. This license permitted the company to purchase and export gold from small-scale miners. NAM1 established Brew Marketing Consult as a gold buying agent to facilitate these operations.
However, revelations indicate that the Minerals Commission did not duly license Menzgold for gold trading. Despite this regulatory gap, the company publicly solicited deposits from the public, offering fixed-term investments with interest under the guise of gold purchasing.