Ghana's gold dealership CEO detained after return from Dubai jail

The Ghana Police Service on Thursday (July 11) confirmed the detention of an embattled goal dealership founder who had been held for about six months in the United Arab Emirates.

The police statement confirmed widespread reports in the local media about the return of Nana Appiah Mensah to Ghana. Nana Appiah popularly referred to as NAM1 had become the subject of Interpol investigations since 2018.

“The Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold, Mr. Nana Appiah Mensah is in the custody of the CID/HQ. Following the Interpol alert issued for the accused, NAM1 was handed over to Interpol Ghana by Interpol Dubai today, for the CID to continue with the investigation started in 2018,” the statement read.

In the last few months, hundreds of Menzgold customers who invested various sums of money in the company protested in parts of the country demanding his arrest, deportation and retrieval of their monies.

Some went as far as demand that government foots their losses citing regulatory failures by the Bank of Ghana, BoG and allied bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.

Others have however counter-protested and dared government to use tax monies to settle persons who fell for a Ponzi scheme.

Menzgold started off as Menzbank changed to Menzbanc after BoG red flag and finally to Menzgold – posing as a mineral collectibles agency and was said to be promising outrageous returns.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned.