The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as (NAM 1), who was arrested shortly after arrival in the country yesterday, would be put before an Accra circuit court today.
He was arrested by personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), when he arrived in the country by an Emirate Airline, at the Kotoka International Airport.
Nana Mensah’s arrest follows an International Police (INTERPOL) red alert for his arrest to assist in investigation in the alleged fraud case.
A reliable source at the CID confirmed these to the Ghanaian Times in Accra, yesterday, stating that he was arrested and detained at the CID headquarters, Accra, for interrogation on alleged charge of defrauding by false pretence, following complaints by customers of Menzgold.
In an earlier press conference, the Public Relations Officer of the CID, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Juliana Obeng, confirmed that Nana Mensah was in the custody of the police, following his arrest by INTERPOL.
The Police PRO said the suspect was handed over to Ghanaian authorities by INTERPOL, Dubai, yesterday for continuation of investigations that started last year.
NAM1 has spent more than six months in police custody in Dubai, following his arrest there in December last year, over a botched gold business deal with a Dubai based company.
He is said to have landed in Dubai hoping to retrieve some $39 million owed Menzgold by the Dubai-based company, Horizon Royal Diamonds DMCC, for the supply of gold.
In January this year, agitation over his inability to pay customers of his gold dealership grew stronger amidst unending demonstrations, following, which he was reported to the police for alleged fraud.
His arrest in Dubai, which was initially unknown to the CID of the Ghana Police Service police, triggered an INTERPOL process in 194 member countries, declaring NAM 1 a wanted man.
When the CID later confirmed his arrest, a government delegation was dispatched to Dubai, to facilitate the extradition of the CEO, but this failed as the case for which he was arrested in Dubai had not ended.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) secured a court order to freeze all landed properties and vehicles belonging to NAM 1, including Menzgold Ghana Limited and Menzgold Office Complex, Zylofon Art Complex.
After months of speculations about the case and demonstrations by aggrieved customers, the embattled CEO won his court case in Dubai, with an order by the court that Dubai-based company, which called for his arrest and later prosecution, to pay him all outstanding debts.
NAM 1 shot to fame in 2017 with his Zylofon Media Company Limited after his association with the entertainment industry and subsequently signed some musicians and actors onto his Zylofon Media record label.
After venturing into sports by acquiring lower-tier Star Madrid FC, NAM 1 through one of his companies Zylofon Cash, signed a five-year deal worth $10 million to become the headline sponsors of the Ghana Premier League in May 2018.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
