Wontumi's lawyer questions why Attorney-General has not named EXIM Bank officials in the said Wontumi Farms loan case
The lawyer for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, commonly known as Chairman Wontumi, who is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has questioned why officials of EXIM Bank Ghana have not been named in the said GH¢24 million loan fraud case mentioned by the Attorney-General at a press conference in Accra on Monday, which he said involved Wontumi Farms.
Mr Andy Appiah-Kubi, a former Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North and counsel for Chairman Wontumi, said the bank should bear greater responsibility for the transaction than his client’s company.
Speaking in an inteview with JoyNews on Tuesday [December 22, 2025], Mr Appiah-Kubi criticised the Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, for publicly naming Chairman Wontumi and mentioning his political affiliation while leaving out the identities of EXIM Bank officials who approved and released the loan.
“I did not hear them mention the personal names of any of the people in EXIM who took part in this transaction, and I was surprised,” Mr Appiah-Kubi said. “Why are we going beyond that to announce the name of Chairman Wontumi and even the political party he belongs to?”
He questioned whether the officials involved were nameless, adding, “So those people in EXIM, they do not belong to political parties or they do not have names?”
Mr Appiah-Kubi argued that EXIM Bank officials should share responsibility for the alleged fraud, saying the bank continued to disburse funds even after discovering that Wontumi Farms had not submitted proof of equipment purchases.
“I see EXIM Bank as more blameworthy than my client, even if there is any allegation at all,” he said. “This could not have happened if people in the bank did not have an interest in what was going on. So where are the other accused persons?”
Earlier on Monday, Dr Ayine announced at Jubilee House at a press conference that dubbed Government Accountability Series that Chairman Wontumi would be charged with defrauding by false pretences after Christmas. He also disclosed that the state had frozen a GH¢15 million account belonging to an insurance company linked to Chairman Wontumi.
- Related:
- AG to prosecute Chairman Wontumi over alleged GH¢24m Exim Bank fraud
- A-G to prosecute Wontumi, Akpaloo for fraud
The Attorney General accused Wontumi Farms of submitting a forged GH¢4 million receipt to EXIM Bank and applying for the loan in 2017 to cultivate maize on 100,000 acres before the company was registered.
Mr Appiah-Kubi disputed reports circulating on social media suggesting the loan was denominated in dollars. “The amount involved is GH¢18.7 million, not dollars,” he said. He added that the transaction was between EXIM Bank and Wontumi Farms as corporate bodies and not between individuals.
He raised concerns about the bank’s internal processes and questioned whether officials failed in their supervisory duties.
Mr Appiah-Kubi said EXIM Bank had engaged a consultant to supervise the project, including procurement of equipment and logistics, but later altered the arrangement. “The consultant was expected to handle the procurement of most of the equipment and logistics,” he explained.
He added, “Even after the Attorney General said EXIM Bank had confirmed that Wontumi Farms did not submit proof of equipment purchases, money was still released. So who is responsible for this?”
On the allegation that the loan application predated the company’s registration, Mr Appiah-Kubi said the law allows pre-incorporation transactions. “Promoters are allowed to enter into transactions before a company is incorporated,” he said. “There is no offence in that.”
Mr Appiah-Kubi, who described Dr Ayine as his former lecturer at the University of Ghana Law Faculty, called for the matter to be treated without political references. “Let us maintain the identity of the parties as EXIM Bank and Wontumi Farms,” he said. “There is no need to bring in political parties.”
He said he would wait for the charge sheet before presenting a full defence in court, adding that his duty would be to test the evidence presented by the Attorney General against the required standard of proof.
The case has also drawn comment from legal circles. A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Mr Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has questioned the decision to announce charges publicly before filing them in court.
“If he has a case and an arguable one, he should go to court,” Mr Ansa-Asare said on the same programme. “The media is not the court. If he is not ready, he should keep quiet.”
