Chairman Wontumi charged over alleged GH¢30m EXIM Bank loan fraud

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been charged over an alleged multi-million-cedi loan fraud involving Ghana EXIM Bank.

The charges were filed at the High Court in Accra on May 15, 2026, by the Prosecution Division of the Office of the Attorney-General.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako, 50, is facing trial together with Wontumi Farms Limited and Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who prosecutors say is currently at large.

They have been charged with defrauding by false pretence, uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.

According to the prosecution, the case relates to a GH¢19 million credit and grant facility allegedly requested from Ghana EXIM Bank in January 2018.

The state says Mr Antwi-Boasiako, acting as Managing Director of Wontumi Farms Limited, applied for the facility to support a proposed large-scale commercial farming project.

In the application, he allegedly represented that the company had acquired 100,000 acres of land for the project.

Prosecutors say the company also claimed that developing 2,500 hectares of the land would create jobs for 6,000 families and support about 38,000 people.

But the Attorney-General’s Department alleges that investigations later revealed serious irregularities in the loan process and the use of the funds.

One of the documents submitted to the bank was a board resolution signed by Thomas Antwi-Boasiako as Board Chairman.

The prosecution says the resolution claimed that the loan application had been approved at a board meeting on December 9, 2017.

However, Wontumi Farms Limited was allegedly incorporated and authorised to commence business on December 14, 2017, five days after the purported board meeting.

Despite this, Ghana EXIM Bank is said to have offered the company a facility of GH¢18,734,260 on January 16, 2018.

The money was intended to cover agricultural machinery, working capital and consultancy fees.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako allegedly accepted the offer in Kumasi on January 23, 2018.

By March 2018, prosecutors say GH¢14,302,000 had been disbursed to the company.

The state further alleges that Mr Antwi-Boasiako later submitted a document described as a receipt to show that GH¢4 million had been used to purchase specialised agricultural machinery.

Investigators, however, claim the document was not a genuine receipt.

According to the prosecution, it was originally a pro-forma invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise after pricing enquiries were made.

The business owner allegedly told investigators that Mr Antwi-Boasiako never returned to buy the machinery.

Prosecutors say the words “Pro-forma Invoice” were erased and replaced with “Receipt” before the document was submitted to the bank.

The state also claims that the farming project was never carried out.

Investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office allegedly found that no land was cleared, no machinery was bought and no farm workers were employed.

Instead, the prosecution alleges that the funds were withdrawn from Wontumi Farms Limited’s accounts and moved into personal accounts.

The state says the money was then used to support other business interests.

This allegation forms the basis of the money laundering charge, covering the period between 2018 and 2022.

Prosecutors also say Ghana EXIM Bank has suffered losses exceeding GH¢30 million in principal and accumulated liabilities because the loan was not repaid and the project was not executed.

According to the charge sheet, EOCO became involved in March 2025 after attempts by the bank to recover the money allegedly failed.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako was later arrested, cautioned and formally charged on May 14, 2026.

The prosecution says Thomas Antwi-Boasiako remains at large.

Chairman Wontumi is currently preparing to contest for the National Chairman position of the opposition NPP.