Chairman Wontumi Arrives At Accra High Court For Crucial EXIM Bank Case Hearing

Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the incarcerated NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, arrived at the Accra High Court in a prison vehicle on Monday for proceedings in the ongoing GH¢30 million Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank case.

Monday’s sitting is a key date in the matter, as the court had earlier granted the Attorney-General’s Office and Wontumi’s legal team until July 27 to report on the progress of plea bargain negotiations.

Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai had confirmed as of last week that no plea agreement had yet been reached, with the statutory 30-day negotiation window expiring around this time.

Chairman Wontumi, alongside co-accused Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, is facing four charges: defrauding by false pretence, forgery, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss of over GH¢30 million to a public body.

Prosecutors allege the pair fraudulently obtained GH¢14.3 million from EXIM Bank between 2018 and 2022 through Wontumi Farms Limited, using a farming project that was never realised as the basis of the loan application.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case, being heard before Justice Halima Abdul-Alawa, will determine whether plea negotiations have produced an agreement or whether the matter proceeds to full trial.

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