The state has initiated major criminal proceedings against theAshanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over an alleged multi-million-cedi agricultural loan fraud.
A formal charge sheet filed by the Prosecution Division of the Office of the Attorney-General onMay 15, 2026, at the High Court in Accra alleges a web of deception involving altered financial receipts, non-existent farming operations, and a massive financial hit to the Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.
Chairman Wontumi, 50, alongside Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently at large, and their corporate entity, Wontumi Farms Limited, are facing four criminal counts:
– Defrauding by false pretence
– Uttering a forged document
– Money laundering
– Intentionally causing financial loss to a public body
Background and Loan Acquisition
According to the state’s brief facts signed by the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, the allegations trace back to January 2018.Chairman Wontumi, acting as the Managing Director of Wontumi Farms Limited, allegedly approached the Ghana EXIM Bank to request a ₵19 million credit and grant facility to establish a commercial cultivation venture.
To secure the facility, the businessman declared in his application letter that Wontumi Farms had acquired a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the project.Accompanying proposals claimed that developing just 2,500 hectares of the site would create employment for 6,000 families, directly supporting an estimated 38,000 individuals.
However, state investigators uncovered significant irregularities dating back to the inception of the loan process.The bank application was supported by a ‘Board Resolution Letter’ signed by Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, the Board Chairman. The document stated that the application had been authorised during a board meeting on December 9, 2017 — four days before Wontumi Farms Limited was legally incorporated and authorised to commence business on December 14, 2017.
Unaware of the chronological inconsistencies, the Ghana EXIM Bank extended a credit facility offer of ₵18,734,260.00 to the company on January 16, 2018, to cover agricultural machinery, working capital, and staff consultancy fees.Chairman Wontumi signed the acceptance agreement in Kumasi on January 23, 2018, and disbursements commenced shortly after, totalling ₵14,302,000.00 by March 2018.
Allegations of Forgery and Diversion of Funds
The second count — uttering a forged document — centres onhow the accused persons justified the spending of these state funds.In March 2018, Chairman Wontumi allegedly presented a document bearing the title ‘Receipt’ to the EXIM Bank to prove he had purchased GH₵4 million worth of specialised agricultural machinery. Relying entirely on this proof of purchase, the bankreleased subsequent tranches of funding.
State intelligence claims that the document was a fabrication.Investigations revealed the paper was originally a simple pro-forma price invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise when Chairman Wontumi made casual pricing inquiries.The business owner told detectives that the politician promised to return to make the actual purchase but never did.Instead, the inscription ‘Pro-forma Invoice’ on the document was deliberately erased, altered, and replaced with ‘Receipt’ before being submitted to the bank.
The state further alleges that the agricultural project was entirely a front.Intelligence operations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) established that the accused persons did not clear a single acre of land, bought no machinery, and employed no farm labourers.
Instead, the prosecution alleges that Chairman Wontumi systematically withdrew the state funds from the corporate accounts of Wontumi Farms Limited, moving them into personal accounts to fund other luxury business enterprises.This forms the basis of Count Three, which charges him with laundering the proceeds offraud between 2018 and2022.
Financial Loss and Legal Action
The state’s final charge relates to the overall financial devastation brought upon the public institution.Count Four highlights that due tothe total failure to execute the business transaction or service the debt, the Ghana EXIM Bank has been left with an institutional loss exceeding ₵30,000,000.00 in principal and accumulated liabilities.
When extensive effortsby EXIM Bank officials to recover the outstanding funds were stonewalled by the accused, EOCO formally stepped in during March 2025.Chairman Wontumi was subsequently arrested, cautioned, and officially charged on May 14, 2026, leading to his arraignment.
According to prosecutors, the second accused director, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, remains at large.Chairman Wontumi is currently preparing to contest for the National Chairman position of the opposition NPP.
Source: Classfmonline
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