Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has entered a not guilty plea to four counts related to fraudulent transactions involving Ghana Export-Import Bank totaling GHs30 million.
Wontumi has been accused of fraud, forgery, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.
He made an appearance at the Accra High Court, representing Wontumi Farms Limited. In the meantime, the second accused individual, Thomas Antwi Bosiako, is on the run.
Court documents indicated that the accused persons used false pretenses to secure a loan facility amounting to GH¢14,302,000 from the Ghana Exim Bank for an agricultural project. However, prosecutors noted that the funds were not used for its intended purpose.
The Prosecution further accused Chairman Wontumi of a falsified receipt as proof of purchasing agricultural machinery for GHS 4 million.
“Investigations have determined that the document in question was not an authentic purchase receipt.” Prosecutors stressed that it was initially a pro-forma invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise.
Also, Wontumi did not engage in the farming activity for which he sought a loan from the bank.
Prosecutors further said that the defendants had not legally acquired the property they asserted ownership of for the project, and that substantial funds taken out of the business’s accounts were supposedly spent on private ventures rather than the planned agricultural endeavors.
Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, presiding over the case, granted bail to Chairman Wontumi following a request from his lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, to the court.
The prosecution did not object to the request.
