The presiding Judge hearing the case involving CEO of defunct Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, has ordered the court to tighten security at the entrance of the High Court during the trial.
This, Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaah said, has become necessary after the Public Relations Officer of Menzgold, Mantsebi Nii Armah, was reportedly assaulted by aggrieved customers during the last hearing.
In court on Friday, November 17, lead counsel for NAM1, Kwame Boafo Akuffo notified the court that one of the aggrieved customers struck the forehead of the PRO of Menzgold as they made their way to the courtroom.
At the last sitting, Police had to intervene to throw out some of the customers who had thronged the premises of the court after some of them occupied seats meant for lawyers.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General has withdrawn all previous charges against the Menzgold CEO and proffered new ones.
The Director of Prosecution, Yvonne Atakora, indicated that an amendment had been made to some of the amounts of monies involved in the case, necessitating the filing of new charges.
This, she maintained, was in best interest of the state.
The case has since been adjourned to December 4, 2023, to enable NAM1’s lawyers to review the new charges.
Nana Appiah Mensah had earlier been charged with offences including selling gold without licence, operating deposit-taking institution without a licence, inducement to invest and defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of GH¢1.68 billion.
The government debunked assertions by the former Menzgold boss, that he deposited GH¢5 million with the Ghana Police Service to be distributed to the aggrieved customers.
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame speaking on the floor of Parliament indicated that only GH¢2.5 million was received from NAM1 and not the reported GH¢5 million.
“The record I have before me indicates that an amount of GH¢2.5 million was paid, so the claim of GH¢5 million having been paid to the Ghana Police Service is untrue. It was only GH¢2.5 million that was paid to the Ghana Police Service by the accused person.”
The Ghana Police Service has since deposited the money with the Central Bank.
Reacting to the development, Spokesperson for the Aggrieved Menzgold customers, Fred Forson told journalists that they support the decision of the Ghana Police to deposit the money with the Bank of Ghana
“We agree with A-G’s decision to keep 2.5m cedis in the bank. NAM 1 can’t determine who should be paid first or last,” Fred Forson indicated.
