According to reports, businessman Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as NAM 1, gave the Ghana Police Service GHC5 million in cash so that it could be distributed to clients of Menzgold, his gold dealership.
The Company had previously stated that on Friday, October 20, 2023, it will start paying out assets that had matured. So, the first step in this process was to give the money to the police.Reply to Menzgold
Following concerns that the company did not have the proper license to either undertake deposit taking or deal in gold as it purported to do, the Securities and Exchange Commission, working with other state agencies, shut down the company's operations in September 2018.
For many years, Menzgold served as a receiver for gold items that clients had obtained by depositing money at a connected marketing firm.
Governmental action
Since 2019, state prosecutors have made an effort to prosecute Nam1 in response to claims made by his clients that their assets are still frozen as a result of the company's closure. According to court documents, the outstanding amount of cash is estimated to be more than GH¢1.68 billion.
While Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited was founded in December 2016, Menzgold Ghana Company Limited was first registered as Menzbank Ghana Company Limited in 2013, according to the prosecution' testimony in court.NAM 1, a director and the CEO of Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited and Menzgold Ghana Company Limited, owns the two sister firms. In addition, he owns the majority of shares in both businesses.
Under the pretense of engaging in gold dealing, NAM 1 is charged with running Menzgold Ghana Company Limited as a deposit-taking enterprise without the necessary license.
The Attorney-General's Office claims that Menzgold's business model involved Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited selling gold, gold collectibles, and gold ore to the general public with the intention of having them invest in Menzgold, despite Brew Marketing Consult lacking a license to do so.
According to the prosecution statement, Menzgold was awarded a three-year license by the Minerals Commission on August 22, 2016, to buy and export gold.
Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited was required by the provisions of the license to buy gold from small-scale miners exclusively for export.
The prosecution claimed that Menzgold Company Ltd. and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited had sold gold to individuals in Ghana in violation of their restricted license for the acquisition and export of gold.
"The public was given a platform to trade in gold and gold collectibles in 2016 when NAM 1 and Menzgold Company established what they called the gold vault market," the A-G continued.
Furthermore, according to the A-G, Menzgold Company and NAM 1 established Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited in an effort to evade legal requirements by selling gold to the general public, which would have allowed Menzgold Company to get the gold deposits."The public was invited by NAM 1 and Menzgold to purchase gold and gold collectibles from Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited and deposit same with it between 2017 and 2018," the statement stated.
In a series of invitations, the accused individual—representing Menzgold Company Ltd. and Brew Marketing Consult as deposit-taking entities—invited the general public to deposit acquired gold and gold collectibles in exchange for earnings that could range from 7% to 9%.
Over 16,000 members of the public responded to this invitation by depositing large quantities of money, the prosecution said, believing they were working with a legitimate deposit-taking company that would provide the returns they were promised by the defendants.
The A-G further stated that despite multiple engagements and warning letters from the appropriate authorities, Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited carried on with their business.
The prosecution stated in the charge sheet that "in the meantime, members of the public started facing challenges either with delayed payments or reduced dividends; a number of checks issued by NAM 1 and Menzgold Company Ltd were also dishonoured."
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Menzgold to halt operations on September 7, 2018, since the company was operating without an SEC license.According to the A-G, between November 2016 and March 2019, a large number of the accused people' clients filed police complaints, claiming that despite their best efforts, they were unable to realize the large quantities of money they had invested with them.
According to investigations, the defendants stole about GH¢1.68 billion from their clients on false pretenses, money they were unable to recoup.
Large amounts of depositor money were allegedly transferred by the accused between 2017 and 2018 from Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd and Brew Marketing Consult Ltd to Zylofon Media, a business connected to NAM 1. The Attorney General said that further investigation findings supported this claim, adding, "Huge sums of money were also withdrawn by NAM 1 or transferred into his bank account for his personal use."
"Investigations have shown that despite Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd.'s license being revoked, the money that the accused individuals dishonestly appropriated and fraudulently took from depositors remained unpaid."
Several cars that were taken from the accused during the course of the investigation were auctioned off, with the money raised going into an exhibit account. The prosecution also stated that some gold bars were found on the accused.
Confirmation and potential payment
In August 2023, Nam 1 declared that more than 60% of the claims that were sent in for validation had multiple flaws.
Menzgold had requested on July 30th that its clients provide supporting documentation for verification in order to expedite payments.
Among other purported flaws, the corporation listed a number of abnormalities or discrepancies of the records on the face of the documents, phony (fraudulent) supporting documents, and phony approved signatures.
Clients who fall outside of the over 60% bracket, according to a statement from Menzgold, are still encouraged to "proceed to verify their gold trading transactions status, thus; ascertain as to the validity, invalidity or otherwise of the purported transactions and hence, an eligibility or ineligibility of any claim whatsoever."
Response of Clients
Fred Folson, the Convener of the Angry Menzgold Customers, is both wary and delighted by the most recent progress.
On October 20, 2023, he informed Hot Edition host Alfred Ocansey that, according to their information, GHC2.5 million cedis—rather than GHC5 million—were being delivered. He insisted that every client had a right to reimbursement.
It works well. He hasn't, at least, made a payment to an impartial entity. not the payment for the bedroom he was making before.
We shall be aware of the money's purpose when we receive a briefing. As far as we are aware, neither a confirmed nor a disqualified customer exists.
Each and every client has a right to their money. He ought to earn more money. Our cash is in his hands. We're keeping an eye on everything," he said.
Source: 3news.com
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