Nana Appiah Mensah
The woes of
embattled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah
Mensah, aka NAM1, appear to be worsening as the state has levelled some more
fresh charges against him in his criminal trial.
When the case was
called yesterday, state prosecutors said they have amended the charge sheet and
preferred six general charges against NAM1 and his accomplices with 61 counts
involved.
The charges
include abetment, defrauding by false pretenses, money laundering, carrying out
deposit taking without license, selling minerals without license, as well as
unlawful deposit taking.
Drastic Change
In spite of a
total of 61 counts arising out of the charges preferred against him and his
accomplices, the money involved in MAN1’s alleged Ponzy scheme has dropped
drastically from GH¢1.65 billion to a little over GH¢1 million – GH¢1,187,500.
Main Suspects
NAM1, together with
his wife, Rose Tetteh; his sister, Benedicta Appiah, as well as two of his
companies – Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Limited– were
initially facing 13 charges.
However, they
have now been given further 48 counts as contained in the amended fact sheet
the prosecution intends to use for the trial.
This brings to 61
the number of charges the embattled businessman and his family, as well as his
companies which have seen their assets frozen by a court order are facing.
This is the third
time the state prosecutors are amending the charges levelled against the
accused persons who are before an Accra Circuit Court.
Initial Stages
In the initial
stages, they were facing seven counts when the charges were amended and some
six fresh ones were added.
The charge sheet
has once again been amended to include 48 new counts, leaving NAM1, his company,
his wife and sister battling against 61 counts.
The prosecution,
led by ASP Sylvester Asare, appearing before an Accra Circuit Court presided
over by a relieving judge Malike Wanya Dey asked for an adjournment so the
prosecution could file the amended charge sheet.
Detailed Charges
Per the amended charge
sheet, NAM1, Rose Tetteh and Benedicta Appiah are facing 30 counts of abetment.
NAM1 is facing
another count of money laundering for taking GH¢1,187,500 from the complainants
knowing it to be proceeds of crime.
Two of his companies‒ Ghana Limited and
Brew Marketing Consult Limited‒
are facing 26 counts of defrauding by false pretences.
Again, the two
companies represented by NAM1 are facing two counts of carrying on
deposit-taking business without licence, one count of unlawful deposit-taking
and another count of sales of minerals without licence.
Complainants Reduced
One other
noticeable change in the amended charge and facts sheet is the reduction in the
number of complainants who reportedly lodged a complaint with the police.
The old charge
sheet had stated that NAM1 and the other accused persons and his companies had
defrauded over 16,000 unsuspecting clients.
Although the new
charge maintains that some 16,000 people have been defrauded, it limits the
trial to some 13 persons as the complaints whose GH¢1,187, 500 NAM 1 and his
accomplices fraudulently took.
The new charge
sheets mentioned the complainants as Francis Agodzie, Volkan Basler, Kofi
Tweneboah, Godfred Oduro Yeboah, Evelyn Twerefour, Emmanuel Oppong Cobby and
Rachael Siam.
The others are Frank
Konadu Agyemang, Michael Kwadwo Nsiah, Kwarteng Appiah-Agyei, Cornelius
Edzorhoho, Roselyn Dede Adai and Nicholas Boadi Ofori.
New Facts
Per the new
facts, the complainants in October 2018 petitioned the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) about how Menzgold Ghana Limited
and Brew Marketing Consult Limited made a false representation to some 16,000 unsuspecting people to deposit money over a fixed
period with interest under the pretext of purchasing gold from Menzgold Ghana Limited.
It said the gold
purchased from Menzgold Ghana Limited was to be traded in by Brew Consult, and
it was to accrue a monthly interest of 10 per cent.
According to the
amended facts, upon such false representation, the complainants deposited
various sums of money totalling GH¢1,187,500.
It said the police
commenced investigations into the matter and NAM1, his wife and his sister absconded
and locked up their offices.
It also disclosed
that a warrant was issued for their arrest and NAM1 who had been in Dubai for
over five months arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on July 11
and was arrested, but he denied the allegations of the complaints.
The facts state that
investigations revealed that Menzgold Ghana Limited, although was incorporated
to purchase and sell gold, among others, it was not licensed by the Minerals
Commission to trade in gold.
It further states
that Brew Marketing Consult Limited was also not licensed by the Minerals Commission
to purchase gold.
The case has been adjourned to October 23 for the amended charges and facts to be put before the trial judge who is on a short leave.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
