I don’t owe allegiance to any other country – NAM1 tells court

Embattled Chief Executive Officer of defunct Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1 has said he does not owe allegiance to any other country apart from Ghana.

According to him, “I don’t have any other passport apart from my Ghanaian passport, I’m a 100% Ghanaian.”

NAM1 made this known to the Financial Division of the High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge when asked if he had other passports apart from his Ghanaian passport.

State Prosecutors led by Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah, while not opposing to the oral bail application from lawyers of NAM1 led by Kwame Boafo Akuffo, said NAM1 should be made to deposit his passport at the Registry as part of his bail conditions.

This he (Deputy AG) said will curtail the “temptation” of having the accused person travel out of the jurisdiction when the trial was to come on.

The Deputy AG while answering a question from the judge if NAM1 has allegiance to other countries said “so far as we know, he is a 100% a Ghanaian” but “such things we cannot say for certainty.”

Justice Owusu-Dapaah then posed to NAM1, “do you (accused) have any other passports apart from your Ghanaian passport?”

In his response, NAM1 said, “…I don’t have any other passport apart from my Ghanaian passport, I’m a 100% Ghanaian.”

The judge pointed to him (NAM1) that, the law would be applied against him if his answer to the court turns out to be false.

Bail

NAM1 who pleaded not guilty to 39 counts of fresh charges was granted bail on September 19, in the sum of GHc500 million and asked to produce four sureties without justification.

The fresh bail terms granted him by the Financial Division of the Accra High Court presided over Justice Earnest Owusu Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge also include an order for him to deposit his passport at the Registry of the Court and report to the CID headquarters every Thursday.

NAM1, who was also representing Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult, the other two accused persons, earlier said “My Lord, I’m not guilty” as he responds to charges.

Before His Lordship, Justice Ernest Owusu Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, sitting as an additional responsibility as a High Court judge, NAM1 denied any wrongdoing in all 39 counts.

The 39 counts comprised of a count each of selling gold contrary to section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703, Operating a deposit-taking business without a license contrary to section (1) and 22 (1) of the Banking and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) and Inducement to invest contrary to section 344 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992),

The others include 22 counts of Defrauding by false pretense contrary to section 131 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), seven counts of fraudulent breach of trust contrary to section 128 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and seven counts if Money Laundering contrary to section 1(2)(a)(i) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).

EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, reports that the case has been adjourned to October 27, 2023 with the Prosecution ordered to file their disclosures.

NAM1 made his first appearance at the High Court after making 36 appearances at the Circuit Court without trial.