Court of Appeal dismisses NAM 1’s bid to halt criminal trial
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application filed by Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM 1—the Chief Executive Officer of the defunct MenzGold Ghana Limited—seeking to halt his ongoing criminal trial at the High Court. The ruling marks another legal setback in a long-running saga involving allegations of fraud, unlicensed gold trading, and money laundering.
NAM 1’s legal team filed the application for a stay of proceedings after the High Court, in April this year, ruled that he must open his defense in response to multiple criminal charges. The appeal sought to challenge the High Court’s directive and requested a pause in proceedings while the Court of Appeal considered the merits of their substantive appeal. However, the Court of Appeal, in its ruling, rejected the application—effectively paving the way for the criminal trial at the High Court to continue.
Reacting to the ruling, the embattled MenzGold CEO told journalists that the fight was far from over.
“It does not end here. I mean, we still have the Supreme Court, and we will continue to exercise all our rights enshrined in the constitution,” he stated.
NAM 1 is standing trial for offenses including defrauding by false pretenses, selling gold without a license, money laundering, and fraudulent breach of trust. Prosecutors allege that he used his company, MenzGold Ghana Limited, to solicit millions of cedis from unsuspecting Ghanaians under the guise of gold dealership and investment services.
Nana Appiah Mensah gained national prominence in 2014 when he launched MenzGold Ghana Limited, a company that presented itself as a gold dealership offering high-yield investment packages. Clients were promised monthly returns of between 7% and 10%, attracting thousands of investors across the country. The company claimed to buy and export gold and said investors were profiting from the proceeds.
MenzGold operated for years under the pretense of being a licensed gold dealer. However, in 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of Ghana ordered the company to suspend its operations, citing regulatory breaches and the absence of appropriate licenses to engage in gold collectibles and investment products.
Following this, thousands of customers began reporting difficulties withdrawing their funds. Estimates suggest that more than GH¢1.6 billion in customer funds were locked up. Public outrage mounted, with many accusing regulatory agencies of negligence and calling for the government to intervene.
In the aftermath, NAM 1 was arrested in Dubai in 2019 on separate charges of fraud. He was later extradited to Ghana to face charges brought by the state.
The Attorney General’s Department filed 61 counts of criminal charges against Nana Appiah Mensah in 2019, ranging from defrauding by false pretenses and abetment of crime to operating a deposit-taking institution without a license. According to the prosecution, NAM 1 and his firm had operated a Ponzi-like scheme, deceiving customers with false assurances of legitimate gold trading.
After years of pre-trial motions, case adjournments, and legal maneuvering, the trial court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case, necessitating that the accused open his defense. NAM 1’s attempt to halt the proceedings through the Court of Appeal was his latest legal strategy to avert the continuation of the case.
With the dismissal of the stay application, the High Court is now expected to resume hearings and compel the accused to respond to the charges. Legal experts suggest that unless the Supreme Court intervenes, NAM 1 has no further grounds to delay the trial. Meanwhile, thousands of aggrieved customers—some of whom have been organizing protests for years—continue to demand justice and the recovery of their funds.
