A group, Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of the defunct gold-trading company, Menzgold Ghana, has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to arrest dancehall artist, Stonebwoy, for endorsing and promoting an unlicensed financial scheme, SidiCoinNFT.
The Coalition also wants the dancehall artist stripped of any national or corporate award earned. In a statement co-signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO) and Vice-President, Francis Owusu, the Coalition said: “It should be noted that Stonebwoy has over 2.8 million followers on Twitter, over 3.1 million followers on Facebook, and over 4 million followers on Instagram and, as such, we must not take his influence lightly.”
According to the group, Ghanaians have not forgotten so soon that Stonebwoy was one of the lead brand ambassadors for the “botched Menzgold investment” where in a similar fashion, he and others lured their followers into investing in Menzgold which resulted in the “deaths of not less than 179 victims with many others down with various degrees of ailments”.
“This unlicensed SidiCoinNFT has been structured in almost the same manner as Menzgold was”, the group averred. “Their legal terms, purity of gold of the coin being offered, fixed percentages of dividend one is assured of, and language of their terms and conditions cleverly tells you that this business is cast in the mold of NAM1’s collapsed Menzgold”.
The group further noted that per media reports “this new scheme belongs to NAM1 and we are not doubtful about it”. According to the group, as victims of Menzgold, it “cannot understand why this gentleman (NAM1) has been a bi-annual innovator, creator, and father of modern-day schemes in Ghana” and state authorities continue to look on helplessly in bringing him and “his assigns including Stonebwoy to face full justice”.
The group then urged “customers of Menzgold not to patronize this SidiCoinNFT in town”. It also called on the relevant security agencies and state authorities to investigate, arrest, and prosecute all those behind SidiCoinNFT and its brand ambassador, Stonebwoy without delay.
Background of the Story
This comes on the back of a recent tweet by the award-winning dancehall artist introducing a non-fungible token (NFT), SidiCoinNFT, to his followers. It can be recalled that Stonebwoy and media personality, Bridget Otoo, were engaged in an argument over Stonebwoy endorsing SidiCoinNFT.
Days after the argument, Stonebwoy, as if to spite Bridget Otoo, mentioned her in a tweet on April 26, 2022, as he continued to promote the NFT.
Bridget in response to Stonebwoy’s tweet said: “I have the whole day for @stonebwoy. Read about Sidicoin and tell me if the company is one you would put your money in. Follow their tweets, the accounts claiming to have joined them. Do this for you! The system is tough don’t let paid tweets fool you”.
Meanwhile, according to some reports, checks from authorities indicate that SidiCoinNFT is not licensed by all the state agencies in charge of the business it is engaged.
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