AG to prosecute Chairman Wontumi over alleged GH¢24m Exim Bank fraud

The Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced the commencement of prosecution proceedings against the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, over an alleged defrauding of the Ghana Export-Import Bank.

According to the A-G, Chairman Wontumi took a total of GH¢24,255,735 through a farming scheme which promised jobs for young people but yielded none.

Dr Ayine said the prosecution will cover charges of defrauding by false pretences, forgery and causing financial loss to the state.

He made the disclosure at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, December 22, 2025.

The announcement adds to the legal challenges facing Chairman Wontumi, who is already standing trial at the Accra High Court over separate charges linked to alleged illegal mining activities involving his company, Akonta Mining Limited.

Dr Ayine said investigations into the Exim Bank case showed that Chairman Wontumi submitted a forged receipt to mislead the bank into believing he had purchased farming equipment valued at GH¢4 million. Investigators later established that no such purchase had been made.

“He forged the invoice he obtained from Kasama Enterprise by removing the word invoice and replacing it with receipt. This forged receipt was then submitted to Exim Bank as proof that he had purchased the equipment after the disbursement of the loan facility,” Dr Ayine said.

He explained that investigators uncovered the forgery after examining the document. “The so called receipt had on it, ladies and gentlemen of the press, 50 days to supply and one year guarantee and service,” he said, adding that such terms appear on pro forma invoices rather than receipts for completed transactions.

Dr Ayine said Chairman Wontumi applied for the loan in December 2017 under the Ghana Exim Bank Mining Alternative Livelihoods Programme, which was intended to create jobs for young people in communities affected by illegal mining.

The application stated that Wontumi Farms Limited would cultivate maize on 100,000 acres of land at Asare Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region and employ young people from mining communities.

Investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office showed that Wontumi Farms Limited did not exist at the time the loan application was submitted. The company was incorporated on December, 14, 2017, five days after Chairman Wontumi had written to Exim Bank claiming that the company’s board had met and approved the application.

“In other words, it was not in existence. In short, the company did not exist at the time of the loan application by its sole shareholder and director,” Dr Ayine said.

On January 16, 2018, Exim Bank approved a medium-term loan facility of GH¢18,734,260, which included a grant component of GH¢6,778,718. The funds were meant for the purchase of agricultural machinery, working capital, staff costs and consultancy services.

Dr Ayine said investigations later showed that Chairman Wontumi did not purchase any of the equipment listed in the loan agreement. When investigators visited the alleged farm site, they found only old and non-functioning tractors manufactured in the 1970s.

“When our investigators went to the ground, they realised there were some obsolete machines on the side. Tractors dating back to the 1970s, which were not functioning, were the ones placed on the farm,” he said.

He said the farming project never took off and no young people were employed at Asare Nkwanta, contrary to the claims made in the loan application. “So this was a scheme designed to defraud Exim Bank,” Dr Ayine said.

The Attorney General said the owner of Kasama Enterprise confirmed to investigators that he issued only a pro forma invoice to Chairman Wontumi and not a receipt. He said Chairman Wontumi promised to return to complete the purchase but failed to do so despite several follow-up calls.

The forged receipt submitted to Exim Bank suggested that GH¢4 million had been paid for agricultural equipment. Dr Ayine said images attached to the document showed bulldozers and excavators rather than farming machinery.

He said Chairman Wontumi later claimed during questioning that he had bought second-hand equipment and submitted all documents to Exim Bank. The bank, he said, confirmed that it received only the forged receipt.

“Investigations established that Chairman Wontumi did not purchase any equipment and could not register any equipment in the joint names of Exim Bank and Wontumi Farms Limited as required under the loan conditions, even though funds were released for that purpose,” Dr Ayine said.

Dr Ayine also disclosed that Chairman Wontumi pressured Exim Bank and E Bank Capital Limited to transfer GH¢400,000 meant for workers’ salaries directly to Wontumi Farms Limited instead of using the electronic payment system set up for the project.

“According to witnesses, Chairman Wontumi insisted that the money be transferred directly to his company on the basis that the youth involved in galamsey were not used to electronic payment systems and preferred cash,” he said.

He added that Wontumi Farms Limited failed to submit a list of workers to E Bank Capital because there were no workers on the farm.

Dr Ayine said the conduct uncovered during investigations went beyond breaches of contract. He said Chairman Wontumi and his company made false representations to Exim Bank to obtain the loan facility, failed to procure the equipment, and did not establish the farming project or employ any young people.

He said the use of a forged receipt to create the impression of compliance amounted to criminal conduct.

Dr Ayine said charges will be filed against Wontumi Farms Limited and its directors after the Christmas break, when his office resumes work. He said the GH¢24,255,735 figure represents the principal amount and interest accrued so far and could rise further.