Menzgold CEO faces 48 fresh charges

State Prosecutors have pressed new charges against Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold Ghana Limited.

Nana Appiah Mensah who was facing 13 charges last month, has 48 additional charges to answer.

ASP Sylvester Asare, who is leading the state’s Prosecution, asked the Circuit court Tuesday, for an adjournment to file the new charge sheet.

The new charge sheet has 13 complainants who alleged being defrauded to the tune of ¢ 1.1m.

They include Volkan Basler ¢ 350,000, Kofi Tweneboah ¢100,000, Godfred Oduro Yeboah ¢94,500, Evelyn Twerefuor ¢ 170,000, Emmanuel Oppong Cobby ¢ 200,000, Rachael Siam ¢ 28,000 and Frank Konadu Agyemang ¢ 26,000.

The charge sheet which has been amended for the third time also contains charges of money laundering, unlawful deposit-taking and sale of minerals without a license.

The case has been adjourned to October 23.

Background

Nana Appiah Mensah is currently on bail.

He had been in detention in Dubai since December 7, 2018, when he was arrested in that country on charges of defrauding a business partner there.

After months of legal tussle, he was released as prosecutors could not prove their case of fraud against him.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that a court in Dubai had ordered that he be paid a sum of $39 million as payment for gold Menzgold supplied to another company.

That apparently paved the way for Mr Appiah Mensah, popularly called NAM1, to come back home to stand trial.

On arrival Thursday, July 11, the Menzgold CEO reported to the CID Headquarters for interrogation.

He was provisionally charged with taking deposits without a licence, money laundering and defrauding by false pretences.

Mr Appiah Mensah was brought before the court on Friday, July 12.

NAM1’s arrival rekindled the hope of thousands of customers who invested huge sums in his gold derivative business and are afraid of losing their investments since the company closed down late last year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September 2018 asked Menzgold to cease its gold derivative business as that amounted to deposit-taking which it was not licensed to do