Menzgold crisis could cause civil war – Lawyer

Veteran lawyer, John Owusu Agyeman, has said the frustration of aggrieved customers of troubled gold dealership firm, Menzgold, could result in a full blown civil war in Ghana.

According to him, it would be extremely difficult for Ghana’s army to battle the over 1.8 million angry Menzgold customers if they should resort to taking arms and ammunition.

An Accra circuit court has issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of Menzgold CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM 1.

He is wanted for defrauding by false pretence following his company’s failure to pay investors both their principal and dividends for several months.

Nana Appiah Mensah, is believed to be hiding in Nigeria or South Africa. The security agencies have alerted Interpol about the embattled CEO.

Speaking to host Henry Lord on Ejura based Naagyei FM Thursday, Lawyer John Owusu Agyeman stated the Menzgold situation is no different from what occurred in Albania in Europe in 1997 where the actions of frustrated customers of a Ponzi scheme resulted into civil war.

“If we don’t take care there could be war in Ghana as happened in Albania when several of that country’s citizens fell victim to a Ponzi scheme. For about six months they were fighting and it took the UN to intervene and eventually the government was overthrown.

“About 1.8 million Menzgold customers are frustrated, this number is more some countries whole population. If this number of people should start an insurrection, can our 30,000 man strong army and about 40,000 Police force contain these people? That could cause a major crisis in this country.”

Lawyer John Owusu Agyeman urged government to be more proactive in dealing with this Menzgold saga to ensure continues peace in the country.

About the Albania Civil War

The Albanian Civil War, also known as the Albanian rebellion, Albanian unrest or the Pyramid crisis, was a period of civil disorder in Albania in 1997, sparked by Ponzi scheme failures. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed.[ It is considered to be either a rebellion, a civil war, or a rebellion that escalated into a civil war.

By January 1997, Albanian citizens, who had lost a total of $1.2 billion—the population being only three million—$400 per head—took their protest to the streets. Beginning in February, thousands of citizens launched daily protests demanding reimbursement by the government, which they believed was profiting from the schemes.

On 1 March, Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi resigned and on 2 March, President Sali Berisha declared a state of emergency. On 11 March the Socialist Party of Albania won a major victory when its leader, Bashkim Fino, was appointed prime minister. However, the transfer of power did not halt the unrest, and protests spread to northern Albania. Although the government quelled revolts in the north, the ability of the government and military to maintain order began to collapse, especially in the southern half of Albania, which fell under the control of rebels and criminal gangs.