FLASHBACK: Blame Akufo-Addo, BoG, SEC for Menzgold saga - Maurice Ampaw

Legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw, in August last year asked Menzgold customers to blame President Akufo-Addo, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the collapse of the gold dealership firm which led customers into financial distress.

“Menzgold lost it because they didn't listen to my advice. I am scared and worried that Menzgold customers are still hoping to get their money back from NAM1, but the focus should not have been on NAM1, but on the government of the day, which allowed Menzgold to allegedly operate illegally," he said.

Maurice Ampaw added that,"Additionally, many regulatory bodies, including the finance minister and the Bank of Ghana, and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed to do due diligence."

Read the full story originally published on August 22, 2023 by www.ghanaweb.com.

Lawyer Maurice Ampaw stated that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government deserves blame for the Menzgold saga that has left thousands of customers in financial distress.

According to him, the government together and some institutions such as the Bank of Ghana, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should be held responsible for their negligence in allowing Menzgold to operate and subsequently failing to trace the proceeds of its operations.

Speaking in an interview on Neat FM on August 21, 2023, he argued that the pressure should not solely rest on Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1), the embattled CEO of Menzgold, but rather on the authorities who allowed the company to operate illegally.

“Menzgold lost it because they didn't listen to my advice. I am scared and worried that Menzgold customers are still hoping to get their money back from NAM1, but the focus should not have been on NAM1, but on the government of the day, which allowed Menzgold to allegedly operate illegally.

"Additionally, many regulatory bodies, including the finance minister and the Bank of Ghana, and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed to do due diligence.

"For some of us, the processes in the NAM1 saga are nonsense…and the government of the day led by Nana Akufo-Addo should be held responsible.”

NAM1 over the weekend faced heavy backlash after he proposed that the aggrieved customers pay 650 cedis as verification fee in order to access their locked-up cash.

Speaking to Serwah Amihere on an X space, NAM1 who later backtracked on the verification fee claimed over 5000 people have been paid over time.

In 2018, Menzgold was asked to suspend its gold trading operations with the public by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to SEC, Menzgold had been involved in the purchase and deposit of gold collectables from the public and issuing contracts with guaranteed returns to clients without a valid license from the Commission.

This was in contravention of “section 109 of Act 929 with consequences under section 2016 (I) of the same Act,” according to the SEC.