The Akufo-Addo government appears to be angling to declare nolle prosequi in the case against the head of the defunct gold collectibles dealership, Menzgold as the case was once again adjourned.
This is the 13th time the State has asked for an adjournment in the case in which Mr. Nana Appiah Mensah, alias NAM 1, is yet to even know the charges that the state has against him despite the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closing his business for allegedly being a Ponzi scheme.
Tens of thousands of Ghanaian investors have lost their investments in Menzgold following the closure and several others have reportedly died out of frustration caused by their financial losses.
On Monday 21st February 2021, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Slyvester Asare, told the Circuit Court in Accra that the state needed another extension.
According to him, the extension is to buy time for the Attorney General to send advice.
The plea annoyed lawyers of NAM 1 who asked trial judge, Evelyn Asamoah, to strike out the case for want of prosecution.
However, Madam Evelyn Asamoah granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the case to April 4, 2022.
As it stands now, the prosecution is yet to file processes for the trial to commence.
NAM 1 was arraigned before court in July 2019 after the Akufo-Addo government had collapsed Menzgold and created the impression that the company was a Ponzi scheme that had defrauded hundreds of Ghanaians.
It was therefore viewed as an open and close case where the state slaps Menzgold with its evidence and prosecute the operators; freeze the operations and order for the remittance of the funds held in Menzgold vaults to stranded investors.
In what has been seen as a conspiracy involving powerful people in the country, including some from the Jubilee House, the State initially slapped 61 charges on NAM 1. But on June 24, 2020, the State withdrew those 61 charges.
Since then, the state has only been asking for extensions anytime they come to court with the same excuse: “We are waiting for advice from Attorney General.”