General News of Monday, 14 January 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

I don’t have a pesewa at Menzgold – Spio-Garbrah

Aspiring flagbearer of the NDC, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah Aspiring flagbearer of the NDC, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah

Aspiring flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has reacted to a viral list of alleged Menzgold customers in which his name has been recorded as one of the political figures who have invested in the company.

According to the 'suspicious' list, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has GHC35 million worth of investment with the troubled gold dealership company.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings, John Mahama and his wife Lordina, Haruna Iddrisu, Koko Anyidoho, Alban Bagbin and other top NDC officials have also been named in the list as Menzgold clients.

Former President Rawlings has already denied his involvement with Mengold and called out on management of the company to clear the air on the list.

“Shouldn’t Menzgold be reacting to this silly list making the rounds on social media? I do not have a stash anywhere to waste on questionable ventures and doubt others on the list involved themselves in this mess,” he tweeted.

Reacting to the purported list in a statement, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah described the list as fake while insisting that he does not have even a pesewa with the distressed company.

The former Trade and Industry Minister, said as a banking and finance expert, he cannot risk investing in companies which offer higher interest rates just to deceive clients.

“Having studied International Banking and Finance at New York University, and with professional working experience in such reputable global financial institutions like the International Finance Corporation ( World Bank Group) and the African Development Bank, I have been trained to avoid investing in any institutions whose interest rates and other promises do not conform to reality,” he stressed.

He sympathised with the aggrieved customers and advised “Ghanaians to be more circumspect when presented with investment opportunities which are "too good to be true.”

He promised to “ensure more proactive action by Ghana’s financial regulators, such as the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in order to protect unsuspecting Ghanaians against fraudulent and criminally minded entrepreneurs when elected as President of Ghana in the 2020 elections”.