It was better for EOCO’s boss to admit no evidence against NAM1 than for the case to fail in court - Lawyer

Private legal practitioner lawyer Kofi Buckman has explained that there was nothing wrong with the comments made by the Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, regarding the Menzgold brouhaha.

The lawyer said one would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases, and without evidence, you will not succeed in any criminal proceedings.

According to the lawyer, the burden of proof in a criminal court differs from that in a civil court because you want to go beyond that to prove that the person you are prosecuting actually committed the crime.

“So the standard of proof in the criminal court is higher, or the standard of proof in criminal jurisprudence is much higher than in civil jurisprudence.”

“In a civil case, if I tell the court that you took my Ghc200,000 and promised to pay me 500 per cent interest and I want my money back, and I can prove that I gave you my money, that’s it; the court will find a way to get my money back for me.” However, if it is proven that you took the money in a criminal case, you will be sentenced to jail. As a result, the law requires a higher standard of proof.”

The standard of proof he maintained should be beyond a reasonable doubt.

COP Maame Tiwaa Addo Danquah, Director General of the Economic and Organized Crime Office, has previously stated that the state is having difficulty prosecuting the CEO of the gold dealership firm.

The lawyer responding stated that the EOCO boss was being truthful to us rather than going without evidence and having the case dismissed.

He noted that the prosecution could come to the conclusion that they were no longer interested in the case due to a lack of evidence.

”When that happens, we should not be surprised. The customers could file a civil case and retrieve their locked-up cash. And so, I am surprised the customers did not go to court to secure a judgement against the embattled businessman when the state confiscated his assets,” he said in an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm.

NAM1 is charged with 63 counts of money laundering, theft, and taking deposits without authorization.

In July 2019, the Circuit Court granted him bail in the amount of GH1 billion.

He had pleaded not guilty to all of the preliminary charges brought against him by the State.

Nana Appiah Mensah was initially charged with aiding and abetting crime, defrauding by false pretenses, operating a deposit-taking business without a license, selling minerals without a license, illegal deposit-taking, and money laundering.