Defunct gold dealership company, Menzgold has reversed a decision announced by its CEO demanding its customers, whose funds are locked up, to pay an amount of GH¢650 for validation of their claims for payment.
CEO of the defunct company, Nana Appiah Mensah better known as NAM 1 had, in a statement dated August 18, announced fresh round of validation of customers’ transaction claims following what he claimed were unacceptable infractions that fraught the initial exercise, rendering 60 percent of the claims invalid.
Under the new validation process, customers were required to purchase a Menzgold Digital Verification Access Card at a cost of GH¢650 each to enable them check their transactions validation status and to upload supporting documents of their transactions.
The announcement was, however, with public backlash with many accusing him of deploying a new scheme to dupe the distraught customers.
In an interview on Metro TV, PRO of Aggrieved Menzgold Customers, Fred Forson detailed past attempts by NAM 1 to continuously dupe the customers and urged them not to fall for his fraudulent schemes again.
But in a press statement dated August 20, the company backtracked on its decision, citing the backlash and “extensive engagement with stakeholders” as reason for the U-turn.
It says customers will no longer be required to purchase the Digital Access Card as it will now resort to the printing of only the PIN Codes, which come at no cost, for distribution to customers seeking to validate their claims.
However, customers whose claims have been found to be invalid should either give up on their investments or pay a fee to seek a review. This, the statement said, is to avoid abuse of time and resources.
“Menzgold would cease the production and printing of the PVC Digital Access Cards, which imposes a cost burden and shall resort to printing of the PIN Codes only, for onward distribution at no cost subject to the following conditions, that;
- Clients with INVALID status may choose to either walk away or still in the face of the one or several of the ten invalidity status reasons provided, adamantly proceed to seek redress or review of the invalidity determination, which shall come at a fee to avoid the abuse of our time, human and logistics resources”.
It adds that “to request Access Card for verification, we require Customers to satisfy ‘proof of transaction with Menzgold’ by providing the following documents via e-mail: info@payboy.com;
- A copy of the customer’s Gold Trading Agreement and a copy of any National ID card, with both documents bearing the same name.
- Copies of the supporting documents submitted for validation acknowledgement receipt”.
“We urge customers to contact any of the authorized Payboy Agents introduced in our release on the 16th August, 2023, for courier arrangements to receive Verification Access Cards”.
The new development, it indicated, does not affect the roadmap for the exercise which commenced on August 14 and expected to end on September 14, 2023.
Menzgold went bankrupt after it was directed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018 to suspend its gold trading operations.
The directive followed SEC’s findings which indicted the company for dealing in the purchase and deposit of gold collectibles from the public and issuing contracts with guaranteed returns with customers without valid licence to undertake such operations.
It was, however, allowed to continue its other businesses of assaying, purchasing gold from small-scale miners, and exporting the mineral.
But the company defaulted in paying the dividends of its customers, raising suspicion of it being a Ponzi scheme.
The CEO and two other persons have since been standing trial for defrauding customers of the company.
