Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
When Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, appears in court on July 10 this year, he will either walk free, or be forced to open his defence because the court will have determined whether the offences he has been charged with, have been proven by the prosecution.
Lead Counsel for the accused, Kwame Akuffo in his submission to the court said despite the loud complaints outside the court by persons who have allegedly been defrauded by his client, “only eight people have come to court “; arguing that if indeed the number of victims are as huge as has been portrayed, they should have come to court.
Focusing more on the charges brought against NAM 1, Kwame Akuffo contended that the prosecution cannot in the same breath charge his client for money laundering and defrauding by false pretence and that stealing and money laundering are mutually exclusive.
He said they have presented documents to the court that show that NAM 1 paid taxes to the state during the period of his operation and that the prosecution has so far failed to show that the accused person didn’t have a license to sell gold.
In a counterargument, the prosecution contended that Brew Marketing Consult, one of NAM 1’s businesses he allegedly used to defraud his victims, is unknown to the Minerals Commission of Ghana to either purchase or export gold.
Menzgold on the other hand, according to prosecution, can only purchase and export minerals, and not operate as a deposit-taking business without a license from the Bank of Ghana.
They argued that on the count of inducement to invest, NAM 1 engaged in advertisements by contracting celebrities. Advertisements, which according to the prosecution, got huge responses from the public.
In all of this, according to the prosecution, NAM 1 knew that whatever he was churning out in the advertisement were false.
The prosecution in response to an argument about the negligible number of witnesses presented by the state, said “even one witness is enough to convict Nana Appiah Mensah”.
The prosecution rounded up their submission by contending that the defence lawyers “nailed their own client when they tendered into evidence a number of customers who were defrauded by Nana Appiah Mensah and Menzgold.”
NAM1, who is currently on a GH¢500 million bail with four sureties, has so far pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
NKONKONSA.com
