The court will determine how the GHS2.5 million received from Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as Nam 1, will be disbursed, according to the police.
Following the guidance of the Attorney-General, the Police proceeded to deposit the money at the Bank of Ghana.
The authorities have informed us that the money has been deposited at the central bank.
The amount has been deposited in the Police Exhibit account at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the attention of the Court.
"The amount is being investigated in relation to petitions received from certain customers of MenzGold Ghana Company Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Limited. These petitions are currently before the Accra High Court, involving the suspect Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as Nam 1."
The police stated in a statement on Tuesday, October 24 that the decision on the disbursement of the money would be determined by the court.
The Company had previously stated that it would begin disbursing payments for matured investments starting on Friday, October 20, 2023. Delivering the funds to the authorities was thus done to initiate this procedure. Regarding Menzgold
In September 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission, in collaboration with other state agencies, shut down the Company's operations due to concerns about its lack of appropriate licensing for deposit taking or dealing in gold, as it claimed to do.
Menzgold has been operating for years as a receiver of gold collectibles that customers acquire by making a deposit at a related marketing company.
Government involvement
State Prosecutors have been working to prosecute Nam1 since 2019 after receiving complaints from his customers about their investments being locked up since the company's closure. According to the documents filed in court, the estimated outstanding cash is more than GH¢1.68 billion.
According to the prosecutors, Menzgold Ghana Company Limited was initially registered as Menzbank Ghana Company Limited in 2013, while Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited was registered in December 2016.
Both companies are sister companies owned by NAM 1, who serves as the Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Company Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited. In addition, he holds the majority of shares in both companies.
NAM 1 has been accused of running Menzgold Ghana Company Limited as a deposit-taking business under the pretense of gold trading, without the necessary license.
As per the Attorney-General’s Office, it was found that Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited sold gold, gold collectibles, and gold ore to the public for investment purposes in Menzgold, despite not having the necessary license to do so.
According to the prosecution statement, Menzgold was granted a three-year license by the Minerals Commission on August 22, 2016, to purchase and export gold.
The terms of the license stated that Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited was required to buy gold from small-scale miners solely for the purpose of export.
The prosecution stated that Menzgold Company Ltd and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited violated their restricted gold purchase and exportation license by selling gold to individuals in Ghana.
"In 2016, NAM 1 and Menzgold Company established a gold vault market, which offered the public a platform to trade in gold and gold collectibles," the A-G mentioned.
In addition, it has been stated that NAM 1 and Menzgold Company established Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited with the intention of selling gold to the public in order to facilitate the collection of gold deposits by Menzgold Company.
"During the period of 2017 and 2018, NAM 1 and Menzgold extended an invitation to individuals to acquire gold and gold collectibles from Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited and entrust them with their deposits," the statement read.
The A-G stated that the accused person, who represented Menzgold Company Ltd and Brew Marketing Consult as deposit-taking businesses, extended invitations to the public to deposit purchased gold and gold collectibles. In return, they promised profits ranging from seven per cent to 10 per cent.
"Over 16,000 members of the public responded to this invitation by depositing significant amounts of money. They believed they were dealing with an authorized deposit-taking business that would ensure the promised returns," the prosecution stated.
Despite multiple engagements and warning notices issued by the relevant agencies, the A-G noted that Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited chose to continue their operations.
“In the meantime, individuals experienced difficulties such as delayed payments or reduced dividends. Additionally, several cheques issued by NAM 1 and Menzgold Company Ltd were not honored,” the prosecution stated in the charge sheet.
In September 7, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instructed Menzgold to temporarily halt its operations due to the absence of a license from the SEC.
During the period from November 2016 to March 2019, numerous customers of the accused individuals approached the police with complaints. These customers had invested significant amounts of money with the accused, but despite their persistent efforts, they were unable to recover their investments.
Investigations have uncovered that the accused individuals, through deceptive means, have taken over GH¢1.68 billion from their customers, which they have been unable to retrieve.
According to the Attorney-General, it was revealed through investigations that the accused individual had transferred significant amounts of depositors' funds from Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd and Brew Marketing Consult Ltd to Zylofon Media, a company associated with NAM 1.
Additionally, it was found that NAM 1 had withdrawn substantial sums of money or transferred them into his personal bank account for his own use.
It has been determined through investigations that the money obtained fraudulently from depositors and dishonestly taken by the accused individuals has not been repaid, as the licence of Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd was revoked.
During the investigations, several vehicles were recovered from the accused individual. These vehicles have since been auctioned, and the funds obtained have been securely stored in an exhibit account. The prosecution also mentioned that some gold bars were recovered from the accused individuals.
Request for verification and potential payment
In August 2023, Nam 1 announced that a significant number of claims submitted for validation had multiple defects.
Menzgold requested its clients to provide supporting documents for validation in order to expedite payments.
The company listed several defects, such as irregularities or inconsistencies in the records on the documents, fraudulent supporting documents, and unauthorized signatures, among other alleged issues.
In a statement, Menzgold kindly requested clients who fall within the over 60 percent bracket to verify their gold trading transactions. This will help determine the validity or invalidity of the transactions and the eligibility or ineligibility of any claim. Customer Feedback
Fred Folson, the Convener of the Aggrieved Menzgold customers, is pleased with the recent development, but he remains cautious.
During his interview with Alfred Ocansey on October 20, 2023, he politely clarified that the information they had indicated an amount of GHC2.5 million cedis being presented, rather than GHC5 million. He firmly believed that all customers have the right to receive payment.
It is excellent. Fortunately, he hasn't made a deposit to a neutral body. He is no longer making the bedroom payment as he did before. Once we receive a briefing, we will gain clarity on the intended use of the funds. As far as we know, there are no verified customers and no customers have been disqualified.
Every customer has the right to their money. It would be beneficial if he could increase his income. We have entrusted our funds to him. He stated that we are watching and monitoring.
Source: 3news.com
0 Comments