EOCO to auction Menzgold assets

Accra. January 18, 2021: The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) can – from Wednesday January 19 – auction the properties of the embattled Menzgold Ghana Limited, an Accra High Court has granted. Justice Asare-Botwe granted a motion filed by the law enforcement agency and said the court’s order for the auctioning of Menzgold’s properties would be ready Wednesday.

This means assets of Mensgold such as Zylofon Art Complex, Brew Marketing Consult, Star Madrid Football Club, Zylofon Music and Media Company Limited, Brew Energy Company Limited and G-Tech Automobile Service will be on the market any time from tomorrow. Other assets tied to Menzgold boss Nana Appiah Mensah to be auctioned include two properties at Trassaco Valley, an uncompleted residential property, and 510 acres of land.

In January 2019, the Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Helen Amoah, froze the assets of Menzgold following a motion by EOCO. Other assets of entities run by the CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM 1, were also frozen by the court.

The move Tuesday January 18, 2021 by the Financial and Economic Crimes Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, followed a motion filed by EOCO asking the court to allow it to auction the properties of the discredited company. EOCO lawyer Abu Issa stated that his organization and other law enforcement agencies after investigating Menzgold found that the company was engaged in money laundering and other serious offences.

Sections 2 and 3 of the EOCO Act, 2010 (Act 804) gives the law enforcement agency the power to undertake such action. Section 2 of Act 804 stipulates that the objects of EOCO are to prevent and detect organized crime, as well as facilitate the confiscation of the proceeds of crime. Per Section 3 (a) of Act 804, EOCO has the mandate to investigate crimes such as financial loss to the state, money laundering, human trafficking, prohibited cyber activity, tax fraud and other serious offences. Section 3(b) of Act 804 gives EOCO the power to take steps to recover the proceeds of such crimes under its mandate.