NAM 1 established Brew Marketing Consult to circumvent BoG’s warning — Investigator

The lead investigator in the case in which the CEO of defunct Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM1 has been accused of defrauding his customers, has told the high court that the accused persons circumvented the Bank of Ghana’s directive which cautioned them against taking deposits. 

NAM1 and two of his companies — Menzgold Ghana Limited (MGL) and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited (BMCGL) — have been charged with 39 counts of selling gold without a licence, operating a deposit-taking business without a licence, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.

The allegations levelled against them relate to defrauding their customers of various sums of money between 2016 and 2018, totalling GH¢340,835,650.

NAM1 has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is on bail of GH¢500 million with four sureties.

Cross-examination

Under the cross-examination of his lawyers, Detective Chief Inspector Charles Nyarko, told the court presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, that the BoG wrote to NAM 1 and MCL warning them to desist from taking deposit from public the without authority.

He said after the notice, NAM1, together with MCL, set up BMCGL, adding “our investigation revealed that the setting up of Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited was meant to circumvent the authority of the BoG”.

He added that investigations further established that NAM1, together with MCL, disguised the deposit taking.

In a further explanation, the witness said the accused persons opened a bank account in the name of BMCGL.

He added that filling the bank form, BMCGL indicated that MCL was its main customer, adding that on the banking form and under source of funds, BMCGL indicated that funds would be from Menzgold.

“We further realised during the investigation that monies were transferred from BMCGL’s account to Afabu Jewelleries.

“Again my Lord, investigation established that Menzgold ordered supplies of gold products from Afabu jewelries, investigation also revealed that monies were transferred from BMCGL account to MCL’s account.

“In all this, investigations established that BMCGL was set up to side step the directives of the BoG to NAM 1 not to take deposit without authority,” he said.