Asante Professionals Club Defends EOCO Boss Over Twisted Report That “EOCO Can’t Prosecute NAM 1”

The Asante Professionals Club (APC) has discredited media reports purporting that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has no available evidence to prosecute Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM 1), the founder of defunct Menzgold.

According to the Club, the Executive Director of EOCO, Maame Tiwaa Addo Danquah did not make those submissions during the online lecture on the APC’s “Kyere Mu” platform as peddled by media platforms.

“We wish to emphatically state that, at no point did she mention NAM 1 or evidence relating to his prosecution as contained in several media reports”, APC noted in a statement.

However, the Club said she stated that there were challenges in prosecuting financial crimes all over the world given the nature in which such crimes are perpetrated and therefore underscored the importance of vigilance among the citizenry.

APC quoted her statement which was made with regard to the topic “Economic Crimes and Its Effect on the Nation” but has been twisted.

“To quote her “The people should be made aware of their rights and remedies. Alongside this, stakeholders should be educated not only on how to be good citizens but also on how to steer clear of these criminal activities and avoid being victims of crimes. (e.g., Menzgold case where people did not listen). Furthermore, the faith of the people in the justice system should be restored by improving the system and also educating people on the approach they should take when faced with a crime so they can report it the right way and ensure they get justice”.”

Below is the full statement:

PRESS RELEASE
RE: “EOCO Can’t Prosecute NAM 1” / “No Evidence to Prosecute” / “We can’t find relevant laws to prosecute NAM 1”
The attention of the Asante Professionals Club (APC) has been drawn to news items and publications on various television channels, online news portals and newspapers with various headlines which suggest that the statements above were direct comments made by a guest speaker during the Club’s last Kyere Mu online meeting.
For purposes of clarification, we wish to state the facts as follows:
COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah (Mrs) who is the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) was invited to give an online lecture on our Kyere Mu platform on the topic “Economic Crimes and Its Effect on the Nation”.
The Meeting took place at 7pm on Wednesday August 17, 2022.
During the lecture, she stated that there were challenges in prosecuting financial crimes all over the world in view of the nature in which such crimes are perpetrated.
The Executive Director of EOCO underscored the importance of vigilance among the citizenry in order for them not to fall victim to financial scams, explaining that the processes involved in prosecuting such cases can be challenging due to the difficulty in obtaining evidence, especially in the case of online economic crimes.
Expatiating on the need for vigilance, she cautioned against rushing into investing into entities, especially financial institutions without conducting the necessary due diligence, citing the example of Menzgold which several persons invested in despite several warnings and disclaimers from the appropriate State agencies.
We wish to emphatically state that, at no point did she mention NAM 1 or evidence relating to his prosecution as contained in several media reports.
To quote her, “The people should be made aware of their rights and remedies. Alongside this, stakeholders should be educated not only on how to be good citizens but also on how to steer clear from these criminal activities and avoid being victims of crimes. (e.g., Menzgold case where people did not listen). Furthermore, the faith of the people in the justice system should be restored by improving the system and also educating people on the approach they should take when faced with a crime so they can report it the right way and ensure they get justice”.
The Asante Professionals Club (APC) will continue to invite resource persons to educate its members and the general public on topical issues and ask that journalists who wish to report on our meetings contact the Club first to avoid a misrepresentation of facts.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini