Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, has suffered a fresh legal blow after the Court of Appeal on Monday, May 19, dismissed his attempt to stop the ongoing criminal proceedings against him. The court threw out an application jointly filed by NAM1 and his companies — Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult — seeking a stay of proceedings in a criminal case that includes 39 charges. The charges range from unlicensed gold trading and illegal deposit-taking to defrauding investors and laundering over GH₵340 million.
NAM1’s lawyers had asked the appellate court to pause the trial until an appeal against a High Court ruling—directing him to present his defence—was heard and determined. That directive followed the Financial Division of the High Court’s conclusion that the prosecution had established a strong enough case to warrant a defence. However, state attorneys opposed the request, arguing it lacked substance and was intended to stall the trial. They contended that NAM1 had failed to meet the legal threshold for a stay of proceedings.
A three-member panel made up of Justices Gbiel Suurbaareh, Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, and Christopher Archer unanimously dismissed the application. This clears the way for the criminal trial to resume on May 28. Following the ruling, NAM1 told the media that he remains determined to continue his legal fight. “We haven’t reached the end. We’ll take advantage of every legal option available, including possibly heading to the Supreme Court,” he stated.
Background to the case
The charges against NAM1 originate from a gold trading scheme operated through Menzgold between 2016 and 2018. Prosecutors allege that over 16,000 individuals were persuaded to invest in the scheme, only for their funds to be misappropriated for private and unauthorized business activities. The businessman and his companies face multiple counts, including fraud, breach of trust, and illegal financial operations. Given the magnitude of the alleged losses and the number of affected investors, the case is regarded as one of the most significant financial crime prosecutions in Ghana’s recent history.
By: Richard Osei Boateng
