Nana Appiah Mensah, the founder of the defunct Menzgold company, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding over 16,000 people of GH¢1.6 billion, has denied circumventing the laws of Ghana to operate an illegal gold deposit-taking business.
On Tuesday, September 19, his attorney, Kwame Akuffo, testified before the High Court that Appiah Mensah, also known as NAM 1, did not violate the Banking and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), as the prosecution claimed.
Instead, Akuffo said that Bank of Ghana (BoG) representatives urged Mensah to rename his firm from Menzbank to Menzbanc and to establish a third company, Brew Marketing Consult, in order to keep the gold marketing business separate from the operations of Menzgold.
“Indeed, in meetings with the BoG, it was the BoG that recommended that a third accused company ( Brew Marketing Consult) be set up in order to ensure that the gold marketing business was kept distinct from the business of Menzgold,” counsel said, reports Graphic Online’s Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson from the court.
Mr Akuffo said he would not mention the names of the BoG officials who gave the advice to his client, but at the appropriate time during the trial, he would subpoena them to testify to aid the defence of his client.
“I will skip the names because the court may take evidence from them in camera,” counsel said.
Not guilty
Meanwhile, NAM 1 has pleaded not guilty to 39 counts, ranging from violating Act 930, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.
The court, presided over by Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, sitting as an additional High Court judge, admitted NAM 1 to bail in the sum of GH¢500million, with four sureties.
As part of the bail conditions, Justice Owusu-Dapaa, also ordered NAM 1 to deposit his passport with the Registrar of the Court, and also report to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) every Thursday.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
