Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed that about GHC200 million of depositors cash is held up at the collapsed gold dealership firm Menzgold.
According to Mr. Ofori Atta, the government is aiming to sell confiscated assets of the firm in order to pay its aggrieved customers.
“I think we have come up with the realisation that maybe over 200 million and change is outstanding… He (Nana Appiah Mensah) has been apprehended in Dubai and I am sure a committee will be put together to see how to liquidate and whatever it is that can be found can be given to those who gave money,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
“But, government is not going to be spending for issues of this nature where we are very clear that it is not licensed and you know the risks that you have taken,” he noted during an interaction with officers of the Ghana Armed Forces at the Burma Camp in Accra Thursday.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has broken his silence on the Menzgold crisis, admonishing Ghanaians to be guided in future.
The President’s comments come days after hundreds of aggrieved customers of the troubled gold trading firm thronged the streets of Tarkwa in the Western region to demonstrate over their locked up funds.
The customers for months have been demanding payment of their principal investments after the gold dealership company was instructed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to halt operations.
Several efforts by the customers targeted at the company to get their monies have failed to yield any positive results.
Touching on the crisis when he delivered his 3rd State of the Nation Address, President Akufo-Addo described it as a tragic phenomenon that appeared to have occurred in plain sight, and affected a lot of people, “in spite of warnings from official institutions.”
He said as the authorities try to unravel the intricacies of “what happened in the Menzgold saga, I admonish all Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons for the future, even as State institutions work to bring a resolution to the matter, and those who are seen to have indulged in criminal activities, are brought to justice.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh
