{"id":2067,"date":"2019-01-17T09:01:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T09:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aptnewsghana.com\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2019-01-17T09:02:04","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T09:02:04","slug":"watch-video-ndc-npp-face-off-over-menzgold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aptnewsghana.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/17\/watch-video-ndc-npp-face-off-over-menzgold\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch video: NDC, NPP face-off over Menzgold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The two main political parties in the country have plunged the Menzgold scandal into a political blame game, each accusing the other of causing the debacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Menzgold,\n a gold dealership started by Nana Appiah Mensah, has folded up after \ntaking millions in Ghana cedis from thousands of investors who bought \ninto its Gold Vault Market service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service has turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and the CEO is wanted in Ghana for fraud and money laundering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police\n say, Nana Appiah Mensah, known popularly as NAM1, has been arrested in \nDubai following a gold transaction that went wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nana<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo: Nana Appiah Mensah has been charged with fraud and money laundering <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A high-powered delegation has been sent to Dubai by the government to push for his extradition to face the charges against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\n the criminal matter took on a dramatic political turn on Wednesday when\n the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the governing New Patriotic \nParty (NPP) held press conferences aimed, solely, at giving reasons why \nthe other party must be blamed for the scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition NDC held the first presser,<\/strong><\/a>\n stating that an endorsement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, \nmisled the thousands of Ghanaians to invest in the Ponzi scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NDC\n Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, at the press briefing said \nGhanaians who would have otherwise not invested in the company felt the \nbusiness was genuine because they saw photographs of the President and \nthe firm\u2019s CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah, circulating on social media and \nother news media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cUndoubtedly,\n the open endorsement of NAM1 and Menzgold by this government greatly \nenhanced the credibility and legitimacy of Menzgold in the eyes of the \ngeneral public and encouraged many people to invest with the company \neven after the Bank of Ghana had cautioned against it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NDC also alleged that the NAM 1 sponsored Nana Akufo-Addo\u2019s 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly\n after that, the NPP held a counter press conference stating that Ponzi \nschemes like Menzgold have flourished under the NDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n NPP cited Pyram, DKM, Bamask, God is Love and US Tilapia as some of the\n fraudulent business operations that flourished under NDC \nadministrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NDC had also alleged during the press conference that First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, took an active part in endorsing the legitimacy of Menzgold which enhanced its credibility thus encouraging numerous Ghanaians to invest with the firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, NPP Communications Director, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, denied the claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\n said the Rebecca Foundation did not solicit funds from one of Nana \nAppiah Mensah\u2019s subsidiaries, the NAM Mission Project, for her health \ncharity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr\n Asamoah urged the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and other \nsecurity agencies to probe and deal with the Menzgold matter to its \nlogical conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\n PM Express, a current affairs show on the Joy News channel on Multi TV,\n the political blame game continued. Sammy Gyamfi locked horns with \nNPP\u2019s Deputy Communications Director, Kamal-Deen Abdulai over the same \nmatter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heated show was moderated by Evans Mensah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the full episode below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n