The troubled CEO of defunct Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, suffered a significant legal setback when the Court of Appeal on Monday, May 19, dismissed his application for a stay of proceedings in the ongoing criminal trial of the businessman.
Nana Appiah Mensah popularly known as NAM1 and his two companies; Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold have been charged with 39 counts of various offences including selling gold without a license, operating a deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by pretences, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering involving the sum of over GH₵340 million.
Nam1’s application for stay at the Court of Appeal was filed after the financial court had established a prima facie case against him in the case.
He filed the stay of proceedings at the Court of Appeal pending the determination of another appeal at the same court challenging the High Court ruling that ordered him to open his defence.
The financial court in 2024 ordered Nana Appiah Mensah to open his defence in the ongoing criminal case.
However, his lawyers filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the July 2024 High Court ruling.
State prosecutors on Monday prayed the Court of Appeal to dismiss the application filed by NAM1 and his lawyers, arguing that it was an attempt to “overreach the powers of the court and failed to establish any exceptional circumstances to justify a stay of proceedings”.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Gbiel Suurbaareh and supported by Justices Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe and Christopher Archer, unanimously dismissed the application.
Monday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal paves the way for the financial court to continue with the trial, which is expected to be called on May 28 this year.
Meanwhile, NAM1, who spoke to the media after the ruling, indicated that there would be further action.
It doesn’t end here. We still have the Supreme Court, so we will exercise all our rights enshrined under the Constitution. So, I will confer with my lawyers, and whatever as they so advice we will see”.
Background
NAM1 is standing trial alongside his two companies—Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Limited—on 39 charges, including defrauding by false pretence, money laundering, and operating an unlicensed deposit-taking business.
The prosecution alleges that between 2016 and 2018, NAM1 and his firms took deposits under the guise of gold trading, attracting over 16,000 customers. Investigations found that funds were misappropriated and diverted to related entities and personal accounts.
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