BoG guided Menzgold's operations-NAM 1 tells court

Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM 1, has testified at the High Court that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) gave direction on how his companies should be structured, including steps that led to name changes and the eventual separation of business lines.

NAM 1, the former CEO of the defunct Menzgold Ghana Limited, is on trial over allegations that he and his companies induced and defrauded more than 16,000 people. While giving evidence-in-chief through his lawyer, Paa Joy A. Boateng, he walked the court through how Menzgold came into being and how it engaged the Central Bank over regulatory concerns.

He said Menzgold was first incorporated as Menzbank Ghana Company Limited, with plans to operate as a “bullion” bank. He told the court that BoG later published a list of unlicensed microfinance institutions that included Menzbank. According to him, the company protested the listing through its in-house counsel, arguing it was not a microfinance institution and asking that its name be removed.

NAM 1 said BoG responded by requesting documents and inviting him to a meeting. He told the court the company submitted a licence from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and other documents demanded by the Central Bank, and that a meeting was held with BoG officials, chaired by Mr Amoh Awuah, where the company explained its operations.

He said the confusion, in his view, stemmed from the company’s name sounding like a regulated financial institution. He told the court that BoG advised a modification: changing “Menzbank” (with a “k”) to “Menzbanc” (with a “c”) to reduce the impression that it was a licensed bank.

NAM 1 further testified that months later, BoG held another meeting because the revised name, “Menzbanc,” still created public uncertainty, with people reportedly calling BoG to ask whether the company was licensed. He added that the company’s gold jewellery products and gold tablets—marketed in a way that could be traded for extra value—also contributed to the impression of an investment product.

He said BoG then directed that the sale of gold jewellery should be separated from gold trading activities to avoid further confusion. “In effect, it was the Bank of Ghana that advised the setting up of Brew Marketing Consult,” he told the court.

The trial has been adjourned to March 5, 2026, for continuation of his testimony.

NAM 1 and two companies—Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited—are facing 39 charges, including unlicensed gold sales, operating a deposit-taking business without a licence, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering. Prosecutors allege customers were defrauded of sums between 2016 and 2018, totalling GH¢340,835,650. He has pleaded not guilty and is on bail of GH¢500 million with four sureties.