Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM1
Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM1, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of gold collectible firm, Menzgold Ghana Limited, whose
operations have been put on hold, appears to be setting some rules for the government
in his quest to pay back the huge investments he received from his customers.
At the well publicized news conference in Accra
yesterday, with massive police presence, NAM1 said he wanted the government to help
him retrieve Menzgold’s supposed $39 million from his business partners in
Dubai.
Besides, he asked the government to unfreeze
his personal accounts and that of Menzgold, as has been ordered by a court
following EOCO’s application.
Furthermore, he asked government to indicate
clearly which institution in Ghana should be in charge of the supervision of
gold trade even though the rules are clearly defined.
NAM1 stated that the assistance from government
would help his company (Menzgold) to pay its numerous customers.
He thanked government and the regulator “for
not sparing the rod and spoiling the child.”
In Pain
He said he was living in ‘excruciating pain’ after
saying he suffered blood clots in his pelvic area due to his nine-month
detention in Dubai and later in Ghana.
No Escape
NAM1 asserted he did not escape from Ghana as
claimed. He said he travelled to a lot of countries to collect debts owed to
Menzgold but had a legal issue in Dubai, adding “I went to seven countries
in Africa all in the pursuit of debt recovery.”
According to him, the EOCO bail had no travel
ban and disclosed that the day before he could leave Ghana he visited EOCO and
even signed there.
Ponzi Scheme
Asked about whether he was perpetrating fraud
on his customers, NAM1 said “I seek the approval of God and not that of
man,” before denying that Menzgold was set up as a ponzi scheme as has
been alleged. He gave an assurance that he would redeem the image of the
company.
He said despite the troubles including legal
challenges, Menzgold “is on the path to greatness and global prominence.”
He stated that Menzgold staff and management
“wear their loss as a badge of honor,” declaring confidently that “we
shall succeed!”
Missionary & Mercenary
NAM1 slammed his critics who felt he is
harbouring political ambition, saying “I have no political ambition. I am
a missionary, not a mercenary.”
He appeared to justify his actions when he likened
the rise of Menzgold to the likes of Facebook, Uber, Snapchat, which he claimed
had to break rules from their humble beginning.
According to him, Menzgold’s subsidiary,
Zylofon Media, was not in competition with any organization in Ghana because
for him its operations were centered on Information Technology (IT) and media.
“Our competitors are not in Ghana; they
are far away in the Silicon Valley, California,” he boasted.
Dead Customers
A Menzgold customer named Timothy Enoch, who
was at the news conference, said to NAM1 that about 23 customers are dead and
more are bedridden as a result of Menzgold’s inability to release their
investments to them.
“We can say on record that 23 customers
have died. Most of them too are bedridden,” the supposed customer said
without any proof.
Dubai Troubles
NAM1 was in jail in Dubai from December last
year until July after he was detained there purportedly on a gold business
trip.
He was brought into the country by Dubai
Interpol and handed over to its counterpart in Ghana in July 12.
Upon his arrival, he was arraigned at a Circuit
Court in Accra for allegedly defrauding some 16,000 people who invested a total
of GH¢1,680,920,000 in Menzgold.
The said investments have been locked up and
the customers have not relented in putting pressure on the authorities to get
their monies back even though some of the regulators have said Menzgold was not
registered to do that kind of business it was engaged in.
Full Charges
The businessman, together with his wife Rose
Tetteh and his sister Benedicta Appiah, both of whom are at large, were then
slapped with a total of 13 counts of defrauding by false pretences, money
laundering, abetment and carrying on deposit-taking business without licence.
His companies – Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew
Marketing Consult Limited – have also been charged with seven counts of
defrauding by false pretences, and carrying on deposit-taking business without licence.
Plea & Bail
NAM 1 pleaded not guilty to all the charges and
the court presided over by Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye initially granted him
bail to the tune of GH¢1 billion (about $185 million) with five sureties, three
of which were to be justified and was ordered by the court to report to the
police every Wednesday.
Harsh Bail Conditions
He was, however, unable to meet the terms of
the bail and was in police custody until August 6 when his lawyers applied to
the court to vary the terms of the bail.
The court maintained the sum of GH¢1 billion but removed the condition of three of the five sureties to be justified and he was subsequently able to go home from the custody of the police.
By Melvin Tarlue
