NAM 1’s 61 charges dropped; New charges to be filed

The prosecution in the trial of Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM 1, has withdrawn the 61 charges originally brought against the embattled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold.

The prosecution will instead file new charges against Nana Mensah to enable the court to take his plea.

The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, told the Circuit Court in Accra, presided over by Ms Ellen Asamoah, at its sitting on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, that the amended charge sheet was ready and would be filed to pave way for the necessary processes.

In September 2019, ASP Asare prayed the court to allow the prosecution time to amend the charges against the CEO of the erstwhile gold dealership company.

At last Tuesday’s sitting, however, ASP Asare informed the court that his principal had directed him to hold on with the charge sheet, hence the need to withdraw the amended charge sheet which was granted by the court.

The court adjourned the case to Monday, July 20, 2020.

Accomplices

The prosecution had accused Nana Mensah, his wife, Ms Rose Tetteh, and his sister, Ms Benedicta Mensah, of using Menzgold as a tool to defraud more than 16,000 people of GH¢1.68 billion.

His wife and his sister were, however, at large.

Facts

The facts, as presented by ASP Asare, were that in October 2018, the police received  complaint from about 16,000 people that Menzgold had convinced them to invest GH¢1.68 billion in a gold purchase scheme that yielded 10 per cent monthly interest.

According to him, the complainants said their money were locked up and that they could not find Nana Mensah and the other principal officers of the company.

The prosecutor said investigations revealed that Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult were incorporated as limited liability companies in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

Menzgold, he said, obtained a licence from the Minerals Commission in August 2016 to purchase and export gold from small-scale miners, and that in order to successfully engage in the business, Nana Mensah founded Brew Marketing Consult to be a gold buying agent.

ASP Asare said although Menzgold was licensed to purchase gold, it was not licensed by the Minerals Commission to trade in gold.

Notwithstanding the lack of such a licence, he said, Menzgold went public after its incorporation and invited the public to deposit money for a fixed period with interest, on the pretext of gold purchasing.

The prosecutor said further investigations revealed that the three accused persons were the directors and principal officers of Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult.

Background

NAM 1 was released from police custody on August 17, 2019 after meeting his revised bail conditions.

Earlier, the court had varied the bail conditions to allow for five sureties to guarantee his bail without showing evidence of having properties worth the GH¢1 billion bail sum.

The court, however, refused a request by counsel for Nana Appiah for a reduction in the bail sum from GH¢1 billion to GH¢20 million.

Hitherto, the court had ordered, on July 26, 2019, that three of the five sureties should show justification, meaning they must show proof that they had properties or interests worth the GH¢1 billion bail sum.

As part of the bail conditions, the Menzgold CEO was ordered to report himself to the Ghana Police Service every Wednesday.