An Accra High Court has rescheduled the ruling to determine whether the Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, walks free or is compelled to open his defence to Thursday, July 11.
The court had originally fixed today, Wednesday, July 10, to deliver its ruling.
However, it has been rescheduled due to the presiding judge, Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaa’s involvement in some cases at the Court of Appeal.
Mr Mensah, popularly known as NAM 1, and his companies — Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited — have been charged with 39 counts.
The charges comprise selling gold without a license, operating a deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.
On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, when the prosecution and defence lawyers appeared in court together with the accused person and some of his victims, the lawyers, in a lengthy argument, took turns highlighting their written submissions on whether the accused was innocent or had questions to answer.
It was the case of the prosecution that the accused and his associates induced people to invest in breach of the Company’s Act.
Additionally, the prosecution said the monies deposited into NAM 1’s company accounts were withdrawn, some of which went into his personal account.
According to the prosecution, Brew Marketing Consult (the third accused) “is unknown to the Minerals Commission as a company licensed by the government of Ghana to purchase and import gold.”
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, further stated that evidence had been provided regarding celebrity endorsement.
“We have led evidence that customers who came to this court to testify invested because they saw advertisements, and the adverts were to persuade these customers to enter into a gold deal with NAM1 and Menzgold.
“They (accused persons) did the adverts, giving the impression they were licensed to do the business they claim to do, and it was not in a vacuum. Our evidence is that people responded and invested. The witnesses we brought to this court stated that they went to Menzgold because of the advert they saw,” she submitted.
Despite the witnesses hauled before the court and the evidence provided, Kwame Boafo Akuffo, counsel for NAM 1, insists the prosecution has no case and subsequently filed a submission of no case.
The defence team stressed that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence against their client.
Mr Akuffo argued that only nine alleged victims had testified, which he claimed was insufficient to substantiate the accusations of widespread fraud.
He also contended that the charges of money laundering and defrauding by false pretences were mutually exclusive and that NAM1 had paid taxes during his business operations, suggesting legitimacy.
Furthermore, he argued that the prosecution had not proven that NAM1 lacked a license to sell gold.
NAM 1, currently on a GH¢500 million bail with four sureties, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Source:theghanareport.com