State prosecutors have concluded their case in the trial of Nana Appiah Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Limited, who stands accused of defrauding customers to the tune of over GH₵340 million.
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The closure of the prosecution’s case came after NAM1’s legal team completed their cross-examination of ASP Charles Nyarko, the investigator who served as the eighth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial.
Upon the conclusion of the cross-examination by the defense counsel, State prosecutors, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, announced, “This is our last witness, and we close our case.”
The trial officially commenced on December 20, 2023, with Stephen Attopoe, a Civil Engineer, as the first prosecution witness.
Subsequently, the prosecution called seven more witnesses before closing their case with ASP Charles Nyarko as the eighth witness on March 26, 2024. Originally, the prosecution had intended to call 11 witnesses but ultimately reduced the number to eight.
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Presiding over the case at the High Court in Accra is Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaa, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge.
He has instructed defense lawyer Kwame Boafo Akuffo to submit a “no case” application by April 15 2024. The prosecution, on the other hand, has until May 6, 2024, to file their response to the submission of no case.
On May 14, the parties involved will be given 20 minutes each to present their key points.
Nana Appiah Mensah, along with his companies Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited, faces 39 charges, including selling gold without a license, operating a deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretense, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering.
NAM1 has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently out on bail of GH¢500 million with four sureties.
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