Police stop Menzgold customers from commemorating collapse of company

An Accra High Court has placed an injunction on a planned commemorative gathering by customers of defunct gold trading firm Menzgold.

The aggrieved customers had planned to hold a wreath laying service on Saturday, September 12, close to the former office of Menzgold at Dzorwulu to mark the passing of some of its members as a result of the company’s shut down by government two years ago.

In an interview on Accra-based radio station on Friday, leaders of the Coalition said they wrote a letter to the IGP requesting for security during the wreath-laying ceremony.

They explained that the exercise was in no form of a demonstration.

“Since the collapse of the company, we have lost over 60 members and many have become bed-ridden due to the continued lock-up of our investment in Menzgold. It is our expectation that your outfit will provide security to help bring the programme to a successful because it will be highly violent free. The programme is expected to last for two hours with an expected attendance of more than 200 people,” the Coalition said in a statement to the IGP

But the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) James Oppong-Bonuah filed an order to stop the demonstration.

“It is hereby ordered that the respondents, the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold Ghana, Isaac Nyarko and Fred Forson are hereby restrained from the intended demonstration to commemorate two years of collapse of Menzgold Company,” the court order prohibiting the meeting said.

Menzgold collapse

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018 asked Menzgold to suspend its gold gold trading operations with the public.

According to the SEC, Menzgold had been dealing in the purchase and deposit of gold collectables from the public and issuing contracts with guaranteed returns with clients, without a valid license from the Commission.

This, the SEC said was in contravention of “section 109 of Act 929 with consequences under section 2016 (I) of the same Act.”

The company was however cleared to continue its “other businesses of assaying, purchasing gold from small-scale miners and export of gold.”

Despite initial protests, Menzgold complied with the directive.

Two years on, the company has failed to fully pay its numerous aggrieved customers the value on their gold deposits as well as their entire investments.