Wontumi pleads not guilty to causing GH¢30M loss to Exim Bank

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been charged at the High Court in Accra over alleged financial offences involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank.

The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, filed the charges, accusing Wontumi and Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, a director of Wontumi Farms Limited, of obtaining GH¢14,302,000 through false pretences.

He is also accused of using a forged document to secure GH¢4,000,000 from the bank and of diverting part of the funds for personal use.

Prosecutors further allege that their actions led to a financial loss of over GH¢30,000,000 to the state-owned bank. Thomas Antwi-Boasiako is currently on the run.

Wontumi appeared before Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit at the High Court in Accra and pleaded not guilty to four charges, including defrauding by false pretence, forgery, money laundering, and causing financial loss to a public institution.

His lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, applied for bail, which the court granted. The prosecution did not oppose the application.

Court records show that the case began in January 2018 when Wontumi approached Exim Bank as Managing Director of Wontumi Farms Limited.

He applied for a GH¢19 million grant to support a farming project and submitted a “Board Resolution Letter” signed by Thomas Antwi-Boasiako as Board Chairman.

Prosecutors say the document contained inconsistencies. Although it was dated January 23, 2018, it referred to a resolution allegedly passed on December 9, 2017, before the company was officially registered on December 14, 2017.

The application claimed the project had secured 100,000 acres of land and would create thousands of jobs, including about 38,000 people from the first phase alone.

On January 16, 2018, Exim Bank approved a facility of GH¢18,734,260 for machinery, operations, salaries, and consultancy services. Wontumi signed acceptance of the offer in Kumasi, with Thomas Antwi-Boasiako as witness.

By March 2018, the bank had disbursed GH¢14,302,000 to Wontumi Farms. Around the same period, Wontumi submitted a document labelled “Receipt,” claiming it showed a GH¢4,000,000 purchase of agricultural machinery. This led to further disbursements.

However, investigators say the document was not a genuine receipt. They explain it was originally a pro-forma invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise after price enquiries, which was later altered.

The prosecution further alleges that no farming project was carried out. They say no machinery was bought, no workers were employed, and the land said to be secured for the project was never acquired.

Investigators also claim Wontumi withdrew large sums from the company’s accounts and used them for personal expenses and unrelated business investments.

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