Lawyers for Menzgold Ghana Limited have said they do not have the “capacity” to pay customers’ locked up cash.
Menzgold in its statement dated 18th December 2019 had instructed its lawyers to make payments to customers.
“Claims shall be settled in full and shall be subject to an invitation from our legal team: Kwame Akuffo & Co. Unlimited strictly following scheduled order,” the statement said.
The lawyers, however, said it will be unable to carry out such an instruction.
“Our attention has been drawn to the press release dated 18th December 2019 by Menzgold Ghana Limited (the Client) in respect of the above-mentioned. Paragraph 4 of the press release, to the effect that Kwame Akuffo & Co. Unlimited (the Firm) on behalf of the Client, has been instructed to make payments to its creditors.
“We have informed the client that the firm does not have the “capacity” to carry out the said exercise. The firm is therefore unable to accept instructions in that regard. Under the circumstances, we have advised the client to instruct a third party entity to carry out the instructions in respect of the above-mentioned,” a statement from the lawyers said.
Menzgold’s payment plan lacks credibility – Customers
Meanwhile, customers of Menzgold Ghana Limited have rejected the payment plan published by the gold dealership firm.
According to them the schedule lacks credibility and failed to capture their demands.
This comes after the company promised to make payments from December 27 beginning with customers whose investments matured in September.
In an interview with Citi News, a spokesperson of the coalition of aggrieved customers of Menzgold, Fredrick Forson explained that the schedule is nothing but a deceptive strategy by the company.
“What the customers are saying is that Menzgold decided to throw anything out there to the public and the issue about employing one Akuffo to do the payment were all inaccurate. The payment plan was just a piece of paper thrown out to the unsuspecting customers,” he said.
Menzgold to begin payment by December 27
Menzgold has said it will from Friday, December 27, 2019, begin paying customers their locked up funds which have been in arrears for the past three years.
The company since its collapse in 2018 following a suspension order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been struggling to refund monies invested by the customers.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company explained what it termed as a ‘reverse mechanism’ as the payment plan and formula to be used for the monies to be disbursed.
“Payments shall be made strictly following a ‘reverse mechanism’ which implies from the last day (month) of our business operations to the very day when our business commenced. Thus from 12th September 2019 to 18th March 2013. To this end, we shall start to settle all transactions in September 2019 and those who didn’t access extra values as we proceed in the first above described mode and manner.”
Menzgold and customers on payment modalities
Earlier, Menzgold asked the leadership of groups formed by its customers to solicit inputs from the disgruntled members as it works on the modalities to pay back locked up investments.
It said the move was part of “their ongoing broad consultation, with the CEO together with management, the general public, government, and internal and external stakeholders.”
At the time, the aggrieved customers were disappointed at the company’s decision to announce plans to publish a payment schedule without their views.
They also vowed to kick against any payment plan that fails to promise a 100% retrieval of their locked up investments.
