An Accra High Court has granted the Attorney-General’s Office and lawyers for Ashanti Regional New Patriotic Party Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, until July 6, 2026, to return to court and brief the presiding judge on the progress of plea bargain negotiations in an ongoing fraud case.
Prosecution documents show that Wontumi is the sole shareholder and one of two directors of Wontumi Farms Limited, a company incorporated on December 14, 2017, to undertake farming, agricultural business, and processing activities.
He approached the Ghana Export-Import Bank in January 2018 for a GH¢19 million facility to support a farming venture.
Prosecutors claim Wontumi Farms Limited presented documents purporting to show the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed agricultural project.
Investigators allege that supporting documents submitted alongside the application, including a board resolution and a project proposal, were dated before the official incorporation of the company.
Prosecutors allege that between 2018 and 2022, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako and Thomas Antwi-Boasiako fraudulently obtained GH¢14,302,000 from EXIM Bank through false pretences, using Wontumi Farms Limited as the vehicle for the transaction. Wontumi is also alleged to have presented a forged receipt to bank officials to support an additional GH¢4 million facility.
Prosecutors further allege that substantial portions of the money were diverted into personal use and unrelated business investments, and that efforts by the bank to recover the funds proved unsuccessful. The total financial loss alleged across all counts exceeds GH¢30 million.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office began investigations into the matter in March 2025. Chairman Wontumi was subsequently arrested, cautioned, and officially charged on May 14, 2026.
The Attorney-General’s Office confirmed to the court that Wontumi had formally initiated steps toward a plea deal, disclosed in a filing presented on June 11, 2026, under Section 162C(3) of Act 30.
The request was made through his lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, in a letter dated June 5, 2026.
A plea bargain, under Section 162C of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1079), allows an accused person to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for a reduced sentence. Any agreement reached must be approved by the court after the Attorney-General assesses factors including the strength of evidence, recovery of state funds, and the public interest.
Chairman Wontumi is facing four charges: defrauding by false pretences, uttering forged documents, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body. He pleaded not guilty to all counts when the plea was taken on May 18, 2026.
He is standing trial alongside Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently at large and being sought by investigators, and Wontumi Farms Limited.
The case returns to the Accra High Court on July 6, 2026, when both the prosecution and the defence are expected to brief the court on whether a plea agreement has been reached or whether trial proceedings will advance.
-Joynews-