The fifth prosecution witness in the trial of Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM1, has testified that after investing GH¢760,000 in Menzgold, the accused assaulted her when she demanded her returns.
Priscilla Adu-Boateng, a trader and a single mother with four children, alleged that on January 8, 2020, NAM 1 pulled a gun when she went to his house at Trassaco in Accra with other aggrieved customers to demand their monies.
“I am a single mother with four children, and these investments were made in furtherance of their education.
“My business is not thriving, and I am in the process of selling my house to make ends meet”, she said in her witness statement, which has been adopted by the court presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge.
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She was led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa.
The witness added that the advertising billboard of Menzgold attracted her to Invest.
Aside from that, she said an executive of Menzgold also persuaded her for about a year before she finally decided to invest in the business.
Following the adoption of the witness statement, Counsel for the accused Kwame B. Akufo, did not cross-examine the witness.
Not guilty
NAM1 and two of his companies — Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited — have been charged with 39 counts of selling gold without a licence, operating a deposit-taking business without a licence, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.
The allegations leveled against them relate to defrauding their customers of various sums of money between 2016 and 2018, totaling GH¢340,835,650.
NAM1 has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is on bail of GH¢500 million with four sureties.
Prosecution’s facts
According to the prosecution, between 2017 and 2018, NAM1 and Menzgold invited members of the public to purchase gold from Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited and to deposit same with Menzgold.
The prosecution said in various forms of invitations, the accused persons representing the two companies as deposit-taking businesses, invited the members of the public to deposit purchased gold with Menzgold in return for profits ranging from seven to 10 per cent.
The prosecution said in response to this invitation, over 16,000 members of the public deposited huge sums of money with the expectation that they were dealing with an authorised deposit-taking business, which would guarantee them the returns as advertised by the accused persons.
Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited, the prosecution said, continued with their operations despite several engagements and warning notices issued by the relevant agencies.
“Meanwhile, members of the public started facing challenges, either with delayed payments or reduced dividends; a number of cheques issued by NAM1 and Menzgold were also dishonoured,” the prosecution said.
On September 7, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed Menzgold to suspend its business for operating without a licence.
Between November 2016 and March 2019, the prosecution said, many customers of the accused entities petitioned the police, complaining that they had invested huge sums of money with the accused, but were unable to realise their investments despite persistent efforts.
“Investigations revealed that the accused persons, under false pretences, took a total sum of GH¢340,835,650 from their customers, which these customers have not recovered.
“Investigations further disclosed that between 2017 and 2018, the accused persons transferred huge sums of depositors’ funds from Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd and Brew Marketing Consult Ltd to Zylofon Media, a company related to NAM1,” the prosecution said.
It added that huge sums of money were also withdrawn by NAM1 or transferred into his bank account for his personal use.
“Investigations have established that the money fraudulently obtained from depositors and dishonestly appropriated by the accused persons remained unpaid as Menzgold Ghana Company Ltd’s licence was revoked,” the prosecution stated.
