Court of Appeal denies NAM1 stay of criminal trial

Embattled businessman Nana Appiah Mensah, widely known as NAM1, has encountered another legal hurdle after the Court of Appeal on Monday, May 19, rejected his bid to halt ongoing criminal proceedings against him.

The court unanimously dismissed an application filed by NAM1 and his two companies—Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult—seeking a stay of proceedings in a case involving 39 criminal charges. 

These charges span a wide range of alleged offences including illegal gold trading, operating an unlicensed deposit-taking business, defrauding investors, and money laundering, with the alleged amount exceeding GH₵340 million.

NAM1’s legal team had petitioned the appellate court to suspend the trial until a separate appeal—challenging a High Court directive for him to open his defense—was resolved. The Financial Court issued that directive in 2024 after it found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.

However, state prosecutors opposed the stay application, arguing it lacked merit and was a strategic move to delay the trial. They maintained that NAM1 had not demonstrated any compelling reason to warrant such an intervention.

A panel comprising Justices Gbiel Suurbaareh, Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, and Christopher Archer sided with the state and dismissed the application, allowing the financial court to resume hearings on May 28.

Reacting to the setback, NAM1 told reporters that the legal battle is far from over.

“This isn’t the end. We’ll explore all the legal remedies available to us under the Constitution, including the Supreme Court. I’ll consult with my lawyers on our next steps,” he said.

Case Background

NAM1’s legal troubles stem from accusations that between 2016 and 2018, he lured over 16,000 people to invest in a supposed gold trading scheme run through Menzgold. Prosecutors claim that instead of genuine trading, customer funds were diverted for personal and unauthorized business purposes.

The businessman and his companies face a total of 39 charges, including defrauding by false pretence, breach of trust, and engaging in illegal financial activities.

The case is seen as a landmark prosecution in Ghana’s financial fraud landscape and has attracted widespread public attention due to the scale of the alleged losses and the number of victims involved.