The Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as NAM1, suffered a significant legal blow on Monday, May 19, when the Court of Appeal dismissed his application for a stay of proceedings in his ongoing criminal trial.
NAM1, along with his two companies—Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold Ghana Limited—is facing 39 charges, including selling gold without a license, operating an unlicensed deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering. The offences involve an amount exceeding GH₵340 million.
His lawyers filed the application for a stay of proceedings at the Court of Appeal after the Financial Court found that a prima facie case had been established against him and ordered him to open his defence.
NAM1 is also challenging the July 2024 High Court ruling that directed him to open his defence. His legal team argued that the trial should be put on hold until the Court of Appeal rules on their substantive appeal against that decision.
However, on Monday, state prosecutors urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss the application, describing it as an attempt to “overreach the powers of the court” and lacking any exceptional grounds to justify a stay of proceedings.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Gbiel Suurbaareh, with Justices Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe and Christopher Archer concurring, unanimously dismissed the application.
This decision clears the way for the Financial Court to continue with the trial, which is expected to resume on May 28.
Speaking to the media after the ruling, NAM1 hinted at pursuing further legal options.
It doesn’t end here. We still have the Supreme Court, so we will exercise all our rights enshrined under the Constitution. I’ll confer with my lawyers and take action based on their advice, he said.
The prosecution alleges that between 2016 and 2018, NAM1 and his two companies took deposits from over 16,000 customers under the guise of investing in gold trading.
Investigations revealed that the funds collected were misappropriated and diverted to related companies and personal accounts, leading to widespread financial losses for customers and triggering a nationwide scandal.
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