Fifth charge added against Chairman Wontumi in Exim Bank case, hearing set for 13 October

Pinned summary · as of 15:53

Prosecution alleged that the state has widened its criminal case over a GH₵30 million loss at the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank), moving the tally of charges against Bernard Antwi Boasiako, who goes by the name Chairman Wontumi, from four to five. The High Court in Accra has adjourned the trial to 13 October 2026.

What we know

• Kumasi Mail and The Press Radio reported that the state filed an amended charge sheet in the Exim Bank matter, lifting the number of counts against Mr Antwi Boasiako from four to five.
• The counts, as reported, span false-pretence fraud, uttering forged documents, laundering of money, and wilfully causing a public body to suffer a financial loss.
• Mr Antwi Boasiako is being prosecuted alongside his company, Wontumi Farms Limited.
• The prosecution's case concerns a facility that Wontumi Farms obtained from Exim Bank for a farming project, and it puts the money released by the bank at above GH₵14 million. These are the state's claims and have not been tested at trial.
• A previous attempt at a plea bargain, involving both prosecution and defence, ended without a deal.
• The court adjourned the case to 13 October 2026.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Kumasi Mail reported that the earlier charge sheet, filed on 15 May, is to be withdrawn and replaced, after which the accused persons will plead afresh on the new counts. Other reports have not confirmed this sequence.
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  Nana Nti Ofori-Debrah, holding brief for defence lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea, told the court he had only just received the new charge sheet and asked for the substitution and the taking of pleas to be pushed back, according to Kumasi Mail. That account of the exchange has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  Kumasi Mail's account of the prosecution's brief facts says a pro forma invoice in the name of EPSONS GHANA LIMITED was presented to the bank, that investigators found no such company exists, and that the invoice was forged. This is the prosecution's allegation and has not been established in court.
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  The prosecution also alleged, according to Kumasi Mail, that the proposed farming was never carried out, that no machinery was bought and no workers were hired, and that large sums were taken out of the company's accounts for personal use, including investments in other businesses. None of this has been confirmed by other reports or tested at trial.
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  Kumasi Mail reported that in January 2018 the bank offered the company a package combining a loan with a grant, worth GH₵18,734,260, and later released GH₵14,302,000 from March 2018. No other report has confirmed these amounts.
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  The prosecution puts the bank's overall loss at about GH₵30 million. Reports differ on the period, and the figure is the state's estimate rather than a finding.
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  The Press Radio reported that Mr Antwi Boasiako has denied the allegations against him. It also reported that the court told the state to file its disclosures and that this matter is separate from another criminal case over alleged illegal mining; neither point has been confirmed by other reports.
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  Kumasi Mail said a co-accused, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, is on the run, and that Mr Antwi Boasiako is serving a 20-year sentence. Ghana Business News likewise said he is in prison over a different case. Neither claim has been confirmed by other reports.

Why it matters for Ghana

The case centres on how money from a state-backed lender was obtained and spent, and one count alleges loss to a public body, so it bears on how public funds are safeguarded in Ghana. Mr Antwi Boasiako is a former NPP regional chairman in the Ashanti Region, which gives the proceedings a political dimension in Kumasi and beyond. The accused are presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise, and none of the prosecution's claims has yet been tested at trial.