Private legal practitioner Amanda Clinton, who is also the lawyer for some aggrieved customers of defunct gold dealership company Menzgold Ghana Limited, is confident that the locked-up investments of her clients would be paid to the customers this year.

She is of the strong conviction that either the government or the embattled CEO of the company, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1) will pay the thousands of clients whose money has been locked up since August 2018 following an order to Menzgold to stop operation over regulatory breaches.

“I truly believe that one way or the other, most, if not all Menzgold customers, will be paid by the end of this year in some portion by either the government and or Nam1,” Ms Clinton said in a statement.

Her comments come on the back of the arrest of over 100 customers of Menzgold who besieged the private residence of NAM1 at Trasacco on Wednesday, 8 January 2020 to demand their money from the embattled CEO.  

Here are Ms Clinton’s reasons for believing Menzgolders will be paid this year:

1) Government payment:

Although the government of Ghana's position (through their agencies) has been that Menzgold and Brew Marketing were unlicensed entities and, therefore, have no protection by the government, the fact remains that Menzgold/Brew were unjustly enriched by 1 in 4 Ghanaians who remain unpaid and aggrieved following investments that were not prevented by government institutions.

A. Furthermore, regulatory bodies like SEC exist to shut down, AT FIRST INSTANCE, (warnings were not enough) unregulated companies who flout the law by deposit-taking, especially when these companies take in millions of dollars a year with countless customers – 1 in every 4 Ghanaians invested in Menzgold.

B. Financial regulatory bodies exist primarily for those who remain outside their remit and cause serious financial loss as much as they exist for regulated companies and it is a wonder how the Bank of Ghana allowed hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time into the country to be invested in Menzgold from foreigners and Ghanaians abroad in particular while allowing 7 months to pass before aiding in the process of freezing all Menzgold/Brew business bank accounts. So much money could have left the country in that 7-month period after the shutdown of Menzgold's operations.

C. If the regulators have no duty to act within the first year of deposit-taking, then anyone can just open shop and deposit-take and not be shut down if it’s not the regulators’ job to primarily protect the unsuspecting public.

D. Warnings by SEC and BoG never went far enough since regulators are meant to take action and shut down in the first year of illegal deposit-taking, not leave poisonous 'financial treats' in the market place.

E. Furthermore, 70% of all Menzgold customers invested in Menzgold's 5th year of operations, so, the earlier shutting down of the company could have prevented mass loss.

F. This is an election-year and whichever party is willing to sympathise with the brokenhearted, financially-destitute, have compassion and funds (or get the funds from Nam1) for those who cannot buy food or pay fees – 1 in 4 Ghanaians may likewise be compassionate with their vote to the party who showed them compassion – right or wrong, people are hurting and want to see action.

2. Nam1 can eventually effect payment:

Our sources have it on good authority that Nam1's agreement with the alleged business he was doing business with in Dubai includes an arbitration clause which can be exercised by Nam1 in France and not Dubai. As such, it is our belief that he has strategically chosen not to pursue the debt owed to him at this moment (and in turn pay all customers) so as to wait a year or two for this matter to die down in Ghana (which it never will because hard-earned money was spent by countless aggrieved customers) before he goes to pursue monies owed to him in Europe.

I would strongly advise Nam1 and his team, however, that this sensitive matter involving countless Ghanaians (1 in every 4 Ghanaians invested) will never die down and we are a peace-loving nation who do not want to see more public displays like the one that arose at his house in Trasacco. However, the customers are numberless and the police cannot be expected to man non-authorised protests which may get out of hand because life savings have been squandered in a company that issues a letterheaded statement every two months but for over a year, has not paid a pesewa to investors in his operation.

Something will give in this case.

We have secured judgements and are in the process of going after everything that is readily available from all the respondents concerned.

I can only imagine that Nam1's lawyers have, in the last month, repeatedly distanced themselves from this matter due to the fact that lawyers should not manage mass payments to the public, it is for a 3rd party such as PwC or similar-type company to be charged with such a duty when monies become available.

It is a New Year; come what may, the government and or Nam1's hand will be forced to do the right thing for those who are dying, suffering at the end of all savings and had to remove their children from school and face the stigma that could have been prevented had Menzgold been shut down in the first year as they masked and dodged accountability but were obvious in their operations by maintaining the same directors.