The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has given a firm assurance that justice will be served victims of Menzgold Ghana Limited as the state begins criminal prosecution against the defunct firm and its owner, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1).
He said the misery and distress caused many by the fraud nearly resulted in a social crisis in Ghana after riots and demonstrations were staged in several parts of the country.
But the Attorney General said: “I am happy to state that after painstaking investigations, criminal prosecution has commenced against the perpetrators.
“At last, by the Grace of God, justice will be served to victims of those dastardly acts.”
He was speaking at the 40th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic held at the University of Cambridge, UK on Monday, September 4.
It was his third appearance at the forum and spoke on the general theme of ‘Integrity’.
But he zeroed in on Ghana’s efforts in promoting integrity in the economic sector.
“In my role as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice of the Republic, I have come to understand that any serious endeavour to fight economic crimes must be firmly rooted in the establishment of systems for its deterrence, undertaking of smooth investigations where same occur and a sound vehicle for prosecution and punishment in a fair and efficient manner.
“These systems have a close connection with the peculiarities of the Ghanaian society.”
He reminded participants on the Menzgold scandal he had talked about the previous year.
“The greed and ignorance of thousands of otherwise hardworking Ghanaians was the oxygen for the operations of the company, as we often witness in the case of many Ponzi schemes around the world.
“People paid their life savings to the suspects in the case, resulting in losses worth millions of dollars and in some cases, loss of lives.”
But he said justice will be served victims.
On Wednesday, August 30, the Attorney General filed fresh charges against NAM1 and his two defunct firms – Menzgold and Brew Marketing Consult.
In all, 39 counts of charges were filed against him.
Among the offences, NAM1 and his firms were accused of defrauding by false pretence contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).