The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiamah has disclosed that investment group, MenzGold is not licensed to conduct banking business.
He says though the Company was licensed by the Minerals Commission to buy and sell gold, it had veered off into accepting deposits from unsuspecting customers.
This would be the latest financial sector scam following DKM and God is Love Fun Club among others.
Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee hearing today on the Central Bank’s measures against such scams, Dr. Asiamah cautioned that anybody who dealt with MenzGold did so at their own peril.
“Only last week we published a notification in the newspaper about MenzGold to the effect that we have not licensed them to accept deposits because to accept deposits you need a license from Bank of Ghana and we have not licensed them for that purpose, and hence if you go ahead to do business with them it’s at your own risk” he cautioned.
“The Minerals Commission has given them a license to purchase gold so based on that we cannot just get up and close them down. There has to be evidence that they are accepting deposits thereby flouting the our regulations. So we took the first step by notifying the public and it came out in quite a number of the newspapers that these people are not to accept deposits and if they ask you to give them money you should not do so,” he added.
Dr. Asiamah assured that the central bank is working with other relevant agencies in the gold industry to find a lasting solution to the problem.
“Now we are following on from the next level where we will have to sit down with the respective agencies. Because if they are licensed to purchase gold that doesn’t have anything to do with us. So going forward, we are collaborating on that very issue” he assured.
Dr. Asiamah stated that measures were being put in place to ensure that people become aware of licensed financial institutions in the country.
“Let me use this medium to educate our people. We are just too ready to give money to anyone that promises a good return. We are quick to just give our monies to them. If you look at the newspapers now we are publishing what we call the clean list”.
Explaining the DKM Microfinance debacle, Dr. Asiamah stated that the processes are ongoing to liquidate the company.
“You mentioned the DKM issue and as you know when any company goes down it has to go through liquidation. So there is a liquidation process that is going on by the Registrars General. They are working with their lawyers, they are working with one of their audit firms and they are working in line with the liquidations act.”
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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana