Chairman Wontumi Requests Plea Deal in Exim Bank Fraud Case
Chairman Wontumi Requests Plea Deal in Exim Bank Fraud Case
The legal troubles of Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, took a new turn on Thursday, June 11, when his legal team formally requested plea negotiations with the Attorney-General in the ongoing criminal trial involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank).
The request, initiated by Wontumi’s counsel, Mr. Andy Appiah-Kubi, Esq., was communicated to the Attorney-General on June 5, 2026.
On Thursday, June 11, Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai filed a Notification of Commencement of Plea Negotiation at the Accra High Court under Docket No. CR/0529/2026, citing Section 162C(3) of Act 30, which outlines plea negotiation procedures in Ghana’s criminal justice system.
Four Charges, Two Co-Accused
Chairman Wontumi stands as the first accused in the case. His co-accused include Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who remains at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited as the third accused. All three face four criminal charges: defrauding by false pretense, authoring a forged document, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public institution.
The charges stem from an alleged scheme in 2018, in which the accused persons reportedly secured approximately GH¢14.3 million from Exim Bank under the pretense of establishing a large-scale farming project.
The Prosecution’s Case
According to the charge sheet dated May 15, 2026, Wontumi Farms Limited applied for a GH¢19 million loan facility and submitted documents claiming the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the agricultural venture.
Prosecutors allege that one of the documents purporting to be a board resolution letter was dated January 23, 2018, but referred to a resolution supposedly passed on December 9, 2017. That date is critical, investigators note, because it falls four days before the company was officially incorporated on December 14, 2017.
Further, the prosecution claims that despite the disbursement of about GH¢14.3 million for the project, no farming activities were carried out, no machinery was purchased, and no workers were employed. Prosecutors also allege that a document presented as proof of purchase for farming equipment was falsified.
Count Four of the charges goes further, claiming that Wontumi, his co-accused Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, and Wontumi Farms Limited intentionally caused financial loss to Exim Bank exceeding GH¢30 million in the course of the transaction. Substantial portions of the money, the state alleges, were diverted into personal use and unrelated business investments.
Not Guilty Plea and Separate Case
When Chairman Wontumi first appeared before the Accra High Court on May 18, 2026, he pleaded not guilty to all four charges. The matter had been adjourned to June 18, 2026, for a Case Management Conference.
This is not the only active criminal matter involving the NPP regional chairman. Wontumi, together with Akonta Mining Limited and company director Kwame Antwi, is also before the Accra High Court in a separate trial over alleged illegal mining activities at Samreboi. Judgment in that case is scheduled for July 3, 2026.
