Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM1
Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has called for the swift prosecution of embattled Chief Executive Officer of defunct Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, to serve as deterrent to others.
According to him, the slow pace of the prosecution of NAM1 is worrying, as nothing has happened in the matter despite it being in court for about three years.
Mr. Kpebu’s assertion was in reaction to a comment by the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, on how challenging it has become to prosecute NAM1, who is facing 14 charges including defrauding by false pretences.
NAM1, together with his wife, Rose Tetteh, and his sister, Benedicta Appiah (both of whom are at large), as well as Menzgold, have been charged with a total of 14 counts of defrauding by false pretences, money laundering, abetment and carrying on deposit-taking business without licence.
NAM1 pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail, but the case, which has travelled for almost three years, has seen multiple adjournments, primarily due to the prosecution seeking more time.
It is in light of this that the EOCO boss said it will be difficult to prosecute him, indicating that “Which law, which Act did he break? And it is becoming difficult even prosecuting that case because no law will define the offence.”
But Mr. Kpebu, speaking on News File on Joy News, disagreed with the assertion, indicating that some of the 14 charges brought against NAM1, including the defrauding under false pretences, can stand.
“NAM1 and Menzgold entered into an agreement with these customers. Simple logic, the agreement is signed and the customers bring gold to Menzgold, keep it, you give some interest over a period of time, and then subsequently you can return my gold,” he explained.
“So the question is that where is my gold? Have you returned it? If you haven’t, minimum, you should get stealing or defrauding by false pretence. Simple. If you look at the astronomically high-interest rate, you can begin to see that Menzgold did not intend to actually return this gold,” he disclosed.
The defence lawyer said justice should be served, adding that the case has not seen progress for about two years, and that could create the impression that the law has failed to deal with Menzgold.
“I may be a lawyer but I am also a citizen. So the legal side of me says yes due process, but the lay man part of me says NAM1 has taken so much from our citizens and he is walking free. So we can’t hide under our legal rules about due process and then it takes years. Because as far as I am aware, for at least two years, the case is not going anywhere and that is troubling,” Mr. Kpebu added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance, John Kumah, speaking on the programme said the position of the EOCO boss does not reflect that of the Attorney General who is in charge of the prosecution of Menzgold, adding that the prosecutors in charge are working to bring justice to the aggrieved customers.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak