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General News on Thursday, January 17, 2019
Source: citinewsroom.com
2019-01-17
Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Hadzide
Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Hadzide, said the government could not be held responsible for the difficulties faced by customers of the gold distribution company Menzgold.
Hadzide responded to comments by Sammy Gyamfi, the communications officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the government of complicity in the matter.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Sammy Gyamfi said the government could not deny its role in the current circumstances, preventing the company from paying its many customers for its investments.
"After carefully badyzing the facts of the Menzgold saga, the NDC has come to the inevitable conclusion that the government is responsible for the current misfortunes of Menzgold's customers. The Akufo-Addo government is complicit, "said Sammy Gyamfi.
However, speaking in Eyewitness News, Pius Hadzide stated that the arguments put forward by NDC's chief communications officer were legally and morally unfounded, adding that no government could be held responsible for the decision from a Ghanaian to invest in Menzgold.
"I strongly suggest that nothing [Sammy Gyamfi] said is quite convincing and no case has been established, whether in law or morally, to compel a government and, in this case, the current government will be held responsible for the individual actions and the Inaction of people who have entered into a contract. He has not established any legal case to justify the government's responsibility in this Menzgold case. "
Sammy Gyamfi told the press conference that Menzgold's CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah, known as NAM1, had received "all the honors of the state" during the current government's term.
He added that it reinforced the image of NAM1 and Menzgold and encouraged more people to invest in society.
The NDC therefore asks the government to ensure that, as was the case for DKM, customers who have lost their investments are reimbursed.
"The government can not pretend to ignore the events that led to what we are today in a desperate attempt to evade its responsibility to ensure that Menzgold's clients are reimbursed for their investments."
However, Mr. Hadzide stated that, although state supervisory authorities did not properly supervise the operations of DKM, a fully licensed company, Menzgold's operations were not under any regulatory authority and could not be treated in the same way.
"The two scenarios are completely different. In the case of DKM, it was fully registered and under the jurisdiction of a specific regulator. It was the responsibility of the Crown to closely monitor the operations that licensed the company to operate in that region. "
"In the case at hand, it has been clearly established that Menzgold was not operating under any license issued by the competent national authorities and did not fall directly within the competence of a regulatory body. There is a clear distinction. "
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Menzgold to suspend its gold trading operations with the public.
Menzgold was responsible for the purchase and deposit of gold collector coins from the public and the contracting of guaranteed returns with customers without a valid license from the Commission.
The SEC said that this contravened Article 109 of Law No. 929, with consequences under Article 2016 (I) of the same law.
Menzgold's general manager, Nana Appiah Mensah, has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates since 08 December 2018.
Mr. Hadzide confirmed that a delegation from Ghana, including "representatives of the country's security agencies badisted by a Ministry of Justice official," is going to Dubai "to discuss with the Emirates security forces of the Eventual extradition of Nana Appiah Mensah. "
He however specified that it was "a security operation" and not a delegation of the state, adding that he had not not yet received updates.
The Office for Combating Organized and Economic Crime (EOCO) has also frozen some NAM1 accounts.
Citi News sources at EOCO indicate that the office is also considering searching for accounts belonging to Menzgold and other related companies.
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