Stephen Attipoe, the first prosecution witness in the trial of the Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, has told the Accra High Court that the accused person’s companies represented themselves falsely to him, hence his decision to invest GH¢5.2 million.
The Civil Engineer, who received a lump sum of GH¢502, 000 on his investment told the court presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, that aside from the investment, he was made to pay GH¢335,400 non-refundable commission for the seven investments he made with NAM 1’s companies.
Not guilty
NAM1 and two of his companies – Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited, have been charged with 39 counts of selling gold without licence, operating a deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.
The allegations leveled against them relate to them defrauding their customers various sums of monies between 2016 and 2018, totaling GH¢340,835,650.
NAM1 has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is on a bail of a GH¢500 million with four sureties.
Risk
Cross examining the witness, counsel for the accused suggested to Mr Attipoe that he [witness], knowingly took an investment risk and lost out.
But in his response, Mr Attipoe said that was so because “the companies represented themselves falsely to me”.
Default
Counsel further suggested to the witness that the only time a default occurred in his (witness’) relationship with the companies was when the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana (SEC) intervened by closing down the businesses.
The witness said that was not correct because NAM1’s companies failed to pay him his returns on September 1, September 5 and September 13th adding that during those period SEC had not yet communicated to the public that NAM1’s businesses were illegal.
The witness added that at the time SEC intervened the total amount due him was GH¢432,000.
However, Mr Attipoe told the court that an ECOBANK cheque with a face value of GH¢240, 000 given to him by NAM1’s company was dishonoured.
The case has been adjourned to January 15, 2024.
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