Court grants 'green light' for auctioning of Menzgold properties
The Accra High Court has given the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) the green light to auction the properties of the defunct gold firm, Menzgold Ghana Limited.
In January 2019, the Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Helen Amoah, froze the assets of Menzgold following a motion by EOCO.
Advertisement
Other assets of entities run by the CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM 1, were also frozen by the court.
The affected entities were Zylofon Art Complex, Brew Marketing Consult, Star Madrid Football Club, Zylofon Music and Media Company Limited, Brew Energy Company Limited and G-Tech Automobile Service.
Also, two properties located at Trassaco Valley, an uncompleted residential property and 510 acres of land said to belong to NAM 1 were also frozen by the court.
Greenlight for auction
The move by the Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, followed a motion filed by EOCO praying the court to allow it to auction the properties of the defunct company.
Moving the motion Tuesday, [January 18, 2021], lawyer for EOCO, Mr Abu Issa, submitted that EOCO and other law enforcement agencies investigated Menzgold and found out that it had engaged in money laundering and other serious offences.
The motion, he said, was premised on Sections 2 and 3 of the EOCO Act, 2010 (Act 804) which gave the law enforcement agency the power to undertake such action.
Justice Asare-Botwe granted the motion and said the court’s order for the auctioning of Menzgold’s properties would be ready Wednesday (January 19, 2021).
What the law says
Section 2 of Act 804 stipulates that the objects of EOCO are to prevent and detect organised crime, as well as facilitate the confiscation of the proceeds of crime.
Per Section 3 (a) of Act 804, EOCO has the mandate to investigate crimes such as financial loss to the state, money laundering, human trafficking, prohibited cyber activity, tax fraud and other serious offences.
Section 3(b) of Act 804 gives EOCO the power to take steps to recover the proceeds of such crimes under its mandate.
In January 2019, the same Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Helen Amoah, froze the assets of Menzgold following a motion by EOCO.
The assets of other entities run by the CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM 1, were also frozen by the court.
The affected Zylofon Art Complex, Brew Marketing Consult, Star Madrid Football Club, Zylofon Music and Media Company Limited, Brew Energy Company Limited and G-Tech Automobile Service.
Also, two properties located at Trassaco Valley, an uncompleted residence and 510 acres of land said to belong to NAM 1 were also frozen by the court.
Background
Menzgold, which was engaged in a supposed dividend-making gold investment, crashed in 2018, making thousands of people to have their investments locked up, with others losing their investments.
Since 2018, thousands of Menzgold customers have embarked on demonstrations to demand the release of their money, while also engaging with Menzgold and the authorities in a war of words.
In December last year, Menzgold released the names of some customers which it claimed would receive their money by June 2022
Trial of NAM 1
NAM 1, the architect and founder of Menzgold, is currently facing trial in court.
Prosecutors have accused him, his wife (Rose Tetteh) and his sister (Benedicta Mensah) of being the principal officers of Menzgold who used the company as a tool to defraud more than 16,000 people of GH¢1,680,920,000.
The three accused persons, Menzgold and its sister company, Brew Marketing Consult Limited (both represented by NAM 1), have been slapped with 13 counts.
The counts are defrauding by false pretences, abetment to defraud by false pretences, carrying out deposit business without licence, abetment of sale of minerals without licence, sale of minerals without licence, abetment to unlawful deposit-taking, unlawful deposit-taking and money laundering.
NAM 1 has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. His wife and his sister are, however, at large.
The trial, which is ongoing at the Accra Circuit Court, has been bedeviled with numerous adjournments, with little progress.
Writer’s email: [email protected]