The lawyer for the defunct gold dealership firm, Menzgold, while in court on Wednesday told a customer who invested more than GH₵5 million but could not earn the same or more that “you simply took an investment risk and lost out.”
During the cross-examination of the prosecution witness, Lawyer Kwame Akuffo questioned the witness, a civil engineer, about the perceived risk he took by investing heavily in Menzgold.
The civil engineer, Stephen Attippoe, explained that he relied on representations made by Nana Appiah Mensah, Menzgold, and the Brew Marketing Consult. However, he later discovered that the accused persons were operating without the necessary licenses.
Stephen Attipoe invested GH₵5.2 million within three months and received a lump sum of GH₵502,000. He had seven separate trading agreements with Menzgold, making all purchases at the Brew Marketing Consult office located at Spintex.
The witness clarified that the Menzgold trading agreements were produced and signed at the Tema Branch Office, following the laid-down procedure of the company. The documents obtained from Menzgold for each transaction included gold trading agreements, purchase of gold receipts, gold vault service receipts, and receipts for commissions on each transaction.
The details provided indicate that on various dates between June 1, 2017, and July 27, 2018, Stephen Attipoe made a total of seven investments with the accused persons involving the purchase of gold from Brew Marketing Consult. The breakdown of the transactions is as follows:
June 1, 2017: Purchased 5 kilograms of 22-carat pure gold, paid GH¢1 million, and a commission of GH¢64,500 (6.4%).
June 5, 2018: Purchased another 5 kilograms of 22-carat pure gold, paid GH¢1 million, and a commission of GH¢64,500 (6.4%).
June 1, 2018: Purchased 5 kilograms of 22-carat pure gold, paid GH¢1 million, and a commission of GH¢64,500 (6.4%).
June 1, 2018: Purchased 3 kilograms of 22-carat pure gold, paid GH¢600,000, and a commission of GH¢80,700.
June 27, 2018: Purchased 3 kilograms of 22-carat plus gold, paid GH¢600,000, and a commission of GH¢80,700.
July 23, 2018: Purchased 4 kilograms of 22-carat gold, paid GH¢800,000, and a commission of GH¢50,600.
July 27, 2018: Purchased 1 kilogram of 22-carat gold, paid GH¢200,000, and a commission of GH¢12,900.
In total, Stephen Attipoe invested GH¢5,200,000 for a total of 26 kilograms of gold and paid a cumulative non-refundable commission of GH¢335,400 for these investments.
In July 2018, Stephen Attipoe received a lump sum payment of GH¢504,000 from Menzgold as his monthly 12% interest on the twenty-six kilograms of gold, as per the agreements signed.
In September 2018, he received an ECOBANK cheque with a face value of GH¢240,000 from Menzgold as his interest on only ten kilograms of gold. However, when he presented the cheque at the Tema Main branch of ECOBANK, the cheque was dishonored.
Charges against Nana Appiah Mensah and two others
The Attorney General has filed 39 counts of fresh criminal charges at the High Court against Nana Appiah Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Company Limited, also known as NAM 1. The charges were brought after more than 36 appearances without a trial over three years, 11 months at the Circuit Court, awaiting the Attorney-General’s advice.
In the new charge sheet at the High Court, NAM 1, Menzgold Ghana Company Limited (MGCL), and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited face various charges, including selling gold without a license, operating a deposit-taking institution without a license, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretences, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering.
According to the facts presented to the court, the accused persons, under false pretences, obtained over GH¢1.68 billion from their customers and have not recovered the money since.