Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi
The legal team for the jailed former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has failed to strike a plea bargain with the Office of the Attorney General in his ongoing trial for allegedly causing GH¢30 million financial loss to a public body.
The court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Bassit, has as a result directed the Attorney General to file all disclosures and witness statements for case management on September 22, 2026, after which the trial will commence.
Chairman Wontumi’s legal team was given three opportunities and two adjournments to conclude negotiations of a plea bargain with the Attorney General.
But the negotiations came to a standstill after both sides could not agree on an acceptable figure as the money lost and restitution to the state.
Joshua Sackey, a Senior State Attorney at the Office of the Attorney General, told the court yesterday that they were unable to reach an agreement on the plea bargain and sought the direction of the court on the way forward in the case.
Samuel Atta-Akyea, lead counsel for Chairman Wontumi, confirmed the unsuccessful plea bargain but did not rule out the possibility of reaching an agreement before the end of the trial.
“Continuation of the case does not stop the plea bargain. Even when the case proceeds, we can still do the plea bargain,” he pointed out.
Justice Abdul-Bassit said the 30-day window allowed by the law for plea bargaining had passed and, therefore, directed the prosecution to file their disclosures and witness statements for case management.
Trial
Chairman Wontumi is facing trial for allegedly causing GH¢30 million financial loss to a public body in the course of a business transaction with Ghana Export-Import Bank (Ghana EXIM Bank).
Chairman Wontumi is accused of obtaining GH¢14,302,000 from the bank under false pretences.
He is further accused of using a forged receipt, knowing that the same is not genuine, to obtain about GH¢4,000,000 from the bank in 2018.
Charged alongside him are Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is on the run, and his company, Wontumi Farms Limited.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail by the court, presided over by Justice Halima Abdul El-Lawal Bassit on May 18, 2026.
Court documents indicate that Chairman Wontumi withdrew huge sums of the funds from his company’s bank accounts and spent the same for his personal use, including investing such sums in other business enterprises.
“All efforts by the Bank to recover the monies from the Accused Persons landed on rocks,” court documents added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak