The victims of the Menzgold fraud have received assurances from Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame that justice will be done.
Mr. Dame acknowledged that the swindle had destroyed families and, in some cases, resulted in fatalities.
The A-G made this clear when he spoke as the keynote speaker at the “Fortieth Cambridge International Symposium On Economic Crime.”
He said that even if their carelessness and greed were to blame, the government would make sure they received justice.
“The greed and ignorance of thousands of otherwise hardworking Ghanaians was the oxygen for the operations of the company, as we often witness in the case of many Ponzi schemes around the world.
“People paid their life savings to the suspects in the case, resulting in losses worth millions of dollars and in some cases, loss of lives.”
“The misery and distress caused to many homes nearly unleashed a social crisis as riots and demonstrations broke out on the streets of Accra and other parts of the country. In reality, people lost their homes, and some marriages even broke up as a result of the Menzgold saga.”
“I am happy to state that after painstaking investigations, criminal prosecution has commenced against the perpetrators. At last, by the Grace of God, justice will be served to victims of those dastardly acts.”
On Wednesday, August 30, the A-G filed further accusations against Nana Appiah Mensah, the former CEO of Menzgold Ghana Limited.
September 19, 2023, has been set aside for the court hearing.
Mr. Appiah Mensah has been charged with 36 counts of crimes, including aiding and abetting, deceiving under false pretenses, operating an unlicensed deposit-taking company, taking unauthorized deposits, and money laundering. This is a decrease from the original 61 charges.
NAM 1 was charged in 2019 by the Attorney General with cheating hundreds of consumers out of millions of cedis through his gold dealership business.
There have been several postponements in the case up to Wednesday, August 30, 2023, when new accusations were brought.
The revised fees follow Mr. Appiah Mensah’s announcement that Menzgold users will receive locked-up funds upon payment of around GH650 for verification.
After receiving a lot of criticism from his customers and the general public, he later decided to change his mind about requiring former clients to buy a verification Access Card in order to confirm transactions and authenticate claims.
“Menzgold would cease the production and printing of the PVC Digital Access Cards, which imposes a cost burden,” the defunct company said in a communique