Probe closure of Menzgold - Aggrieved customers call on Parliament
The Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold has expressed dissatisfaction about the inability of state prosecution to proffer charges against the Chief Executive Officer of the defunct gold dealership firm, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM 1, three years after the collapse of the firm.
As a result, the group has called on Parliament, to as a matter of urgency, set up a commission to investigate the closure of the defunct firm, the role played by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office since its collapse.
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That, the group said, would help expedite processes to retrieve its locked up funds following a recommendation by the committee.
Press Conference
The Public Relations Officer of the Group, Mr Fred Forson, who addressed journalists at a press conference held in Accra, said the rampant adjournment of the criminal case, coupled with the state prosecution’s inability to proffer charges against the CEO was an indication that the government lacked the commitment to prosecute NAM 1.
The press conference was on the theme: “Three years of Menzgold collapse: Customers dying in silence amidst incessant court adjournment”.
“We call on the government in the spirit and within the wind of cooperation blowing in Parliament to work closely with the august House of Parliament to find an amicable solution to this conundrum that customers find themselves in.
“Finding a solution will end the near extinction of over a million Ghanaians whose lives and very existence have been shut with the shutdown of Menzgold,” the PRO said.
No action
Mr Forson noted that since 2018, over 120 customers of the firm had passed on, adding that despite petitions to some institutions including the President, Attorney-General, SEC, National Peace Council, Manyhia Palace and the National Security, nothing had been done about their situation.
“Our hopelessness as customers of the defunct Menzgold continues to deepen with no future assistance from government or its agencies in sight and many customers continue to take ill and face the stark reality of having no money to seek medical care,” he added.
Additionally, the PRO said customers would continue to pursue legitimate means to retrieve their locked up investment.
He further pleaded with Parliament to investigate the whereabouts of some seized assets and the 400 kilogrammes of gold assets in order to sell them to pay the aggrieved customers.
In 2017, Menzgold came under fire from two regulators, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which intensified in 2018.
The SEC, in a notice published in the Monday, October 2, 2018 edition of the Daily Graphic, informed the public that Menzgold Ghana Limited had "neither been licensed nor its adverts sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out any activity in the capital market".
According to the notice, Menzgold was not a SEC-regulated entity because its operations contravened Section 3 (c) of the Securities Industries Act, 2016 (Act 929), which dealt with the registration, licensing, authorisation and regulation of entities in the securities market.
The BoG also cautioned the public against depositing money with Menzgold because it had not been licensed to take deposits.
However, Nana Mensah called the bluff of the BoG, describing the statement as a joke and a diversionary tactic.