Nana Appiah Mensah popularly known as NAM1, is a Ghanaian business man known for the menzgold fraud. He is married to Rose Mensah, who was charged by the state as a coconspirator.[1] [2]
Nana Appiah Mensah had his secondary school education at Adisadel College in the Cape Coast. He went on to further his education at University of Ghana, Legon.
In 2016, He founded Zylofon Media, a multimedia company which he used to recruit notable musicians like Shatta Wale,[3] Stonebwoy,[4] Becca, Kumi Guitar, and Joyce Blessing. Zylofon Media also extended its reach to the film industry, signing popular actors like Benedicta Gafah, and Toosweet Annan.He used this in recruiting victims for the menzgold scam. The company was eventually shut down by the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission.
On 9 January 2019, a circuit court issued a warrant to arrest Mensah for money laundering and fraud[5] causing the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to trigger an Interpol red alert.[6] [7] He was also charged because his company was unlicensed to take deposits and is said to have defrauded by false pretense.[8] [9] In the fall of 2023, the A-G announced that he would take over the prosecution of the Menzgold case, slapping him with 39 counts of various charges.
In September 2018, Menzgold took the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana (SEC) and the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to court after its license was revoked by the SEC. Mensah returned to Ghana in July 2019, claiming he had been acquitted in Dubai and would assist authorities in paying back Menzgold customers.[10] [11] While victims remain unpaid, supporters of Nana Appiah Mensah insisted he was being unfairly treated by the government.[12] [13]
Menzgold insisted that they were to be paid by order of Dubai court a sum of $39 million as payment of the Gold he supplied to Royal Diamonds in three weeks.[14] Along with compensation for wrongful incarceration.[15] Nana Appiah Mensah arrived in Ghana on 11 July to be interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-XgA-QmULE
On 18 August 2023, Nana Appiah Mensah, attempted to further raise more money from his victims through a purported Digital Verification Access Card priced at GHC650. He insisted it was a requirement to verify claims before victims will be paid.[16] After substantial public outrage, the decision was rescinded.[17] [18]
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has recently lodged fresh 39 charges against Nana Appiah Mensah. These charges were officially filed on August 30, 2023. A court hearing to address these new charges is Scheduled for September 19, 2023.[19] [20] [21] The Attorney General and Minister of Justice assured that resolute guarantee that justice will prevail for the victims of Menzgold Ghana Limited as the government commences criminal prosecution against both the now-defunct company and its proprietor, Nana Appiah Mensah.[22]