Nana Appiah Mensah, alias NAM 1, the troubled CEO of Menzgold Ghana Limited, has been granted bail in his continuing trial on 39 counts of fraud and money laundering.
The court’s decision, released today, limits Mr. Mensah’s freedom in a variety of ways. The court’s decision to grant NAM1 bail in the amount of GH500 million, a substantial sum meant to ensure his appearance at subsequent court hearings, was a critical step.
In addition to the bail sum, four sureties are required; noticeably, none of them must show reason.
As part of the bail conditions, NAM1 has been ordered to surrender his passport at the court registry, preventing him from leaving the country while the case is underway.
These developments happened after the businessman and his co-defendants, Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Marketing Consult, pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them.
When the case was heard in the circuit court before the state entered a nolle prosequi, Kwame Akuffo, NAM1’s legal counsel, asked the court to uphold the previous bail term of GH5 million without cause.
Alfred Tuah Yeboah, State Representative and Deputy Attorney General, did not oppose the bail request.
He emphasized the importance of NAM1 submitting his passport, however, and asked the court to consider the sizable sum of GH1.68 billion.
After some deliberation, the judge granted NAM1 bail in the amount of GH500 million with the assistance of four sureties, none of whom were required to provide any reason.
NAM 1 has also been directed to report to the CID headquarters every Thursday in order to ensure his participation in the ongoing judicial proceedings.
Despite the fact that the next court hearing is still months away, the case is still attracting a lot of attention.
