Today, September 12, 2022, members of the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold are scheduled to travel to the Jubilee House to do a demonstration exercise over their frozen funds.
Customers claim attempts to recover their money have been futile as today marks precisely four years since the government forced the bankruptcy of the gold dealership company Menzgold.
Speaking to Citi News as the group's spokesperson, Fred Forson discussed the procedures for presenting a petition to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
"We will meet at the Customs traffic signal at 9am. We will next go on foot through the Ministries to Black Stars Square from there. We'll have a news conference there. We will deliver our petition at 11 a.m. Exactly four years have passed since Menzgold fell, and despite our best efforts, it seems like nothing has changed. So this time, we'd want to request a presidential intervention by petition.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested Menzgold to halt its public gold trading activities in 2018.
The SEC claims that Menzgold operated without a current license from the Commission, buying and depositing gold items from members of the public and offering clients contracts with guaranteed returns.
According to the SEC, this was against Section 109 of Act 929, which has implications under Section 2016(I) of the same Act.
Customers of Menzgold have already lamented the government's lack of commitment to paying them their money.
They are particularly frustrated with the prosecution of Nana Appiah Mensah, the CEO of Menzgold.
Menzgold clients' frozen money won't be paid, according to the finance minister.
Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, had already said that the government would not reimburse Menzgold's consumers.
Such people, according to him, did so at their own risk while investing in Menzgold.
As a result of the exaggerated returns on investment that Menzgold promised, according to Mr Ofori-Atta, the company's consumers were motivated by greed.
“As we try to clean up the financial services centre, I know the SEC has come down hard, strong, and justifiably on Menzgold. But the issue with a company of Menzgold…it’s become an issue of greed as a people and our own behaviour when we are so clear as educated as we might be that when we went there, there was no license.”
“I think it is not in the place of government to fund or get your money back for you. It was an obvious trap that you went into. Maybe we as an industry should also push the whole issue of education and empowerment so that people do not fall prey to that,” he added.