Menzgold case: NAM 1 pleads not guilty, granted GhC500m bail

MenzGold's Nana Appiah Mensah has pleaded not guilty to new charges brought against him by the state. 

“My Lord, I’m not guilty," Nana Appiah Mensah said when he appeared before a High Court today, September 19. The Court presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge also granted the accused bail of  GhC500 million. 

The Attorney-General on August 30, filed new charges against Nana Appiah Mensah and two of his firms (Menzgold Company Limited and Brew Marketing Consult). 

The charges particularly bothered on violations of the Banking and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering. 

Nana Appiah Mensah who operated a Ponzi scheme under his gold dealership company, MenzGold Company Limited was arrested in 2019 and later granted bail, resulting in a three-year pending criminal case at the Circuit Court, which until recently was discontinued by the AG after new charges were filed at the High Court. 

The new charges against NAM 1 are;

i. one count of selling gold contrary to section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), one count of Operating a deposit-taking business without a license contrary to section (1), and 22 (1) of the Banking and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), 

ii. one count of inducement to invest contrary to section 344 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), 

iii. 22 counts of defrauding by false pretense contrary to section 131 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), 

iv. seven counts of fraudulent breach of trust contrary to section 128 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), 

v. seven counts of Money Laundering contrary to section 1(2)(a)(i) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).