The Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced the start of prosecution proceedings against the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako—popularly known as Chairman Wontumi—over allegations of defrauding the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank).
Addressing a press briefing in Accra on Monday, December 22, 2025, Dr Ayine said Chairman Wontumi allegedly obtained a total of GH¢24,255,735 through a farming project that promised to create jobs for young people but ultimately delivered none.
According to the Attorney-General, the prosecution will pursue charges including defrauding by false pretences, forgery and causing financial loss to the state.
The latest development adds to Chairman Wontumi’s mounting legal troubles, as he is already standing trial at the Accra High Court over separate allegations of illegal mining activities involving his company, Akonta Mining Limited.
Dr Ayine said investigations revealed that Chairman Wontumi submitted a forged document to Exim Bank to support his loan application. “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,” he said.
He explained that investigators uncovered inconsistencies upon 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,” Dr Ayine noted, adding that such terms are typical of pro forma invoices rather than receipts.
The Attorney-General said Chairman Wontumi applied for the loan in December 2017 under the Ghana Exim Bank Mining Alternative Livelihoods Programme, which was designed to create employment for young people in communities affected by illegal mining.
The application indicated that Wontumi Farms Limited would cultivate maize on 100,000 acres of land at Asare Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region.
However, investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) showed that Wontumi Farms Limited did not exist at the time the application was submitted.
The company, Dr Ayine said, was incorporated on December 14, 2017—five days after Chairman Wontumi had written to Exim Bank claiming the company’s board had met to approve 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,” he said.
Exim Bank approved a medium-term facility of GH¢18,734,260 on January 16, 2018, including a grant component of GH¢6,778,718, to cover the purchase of agricultural machinery, working capital, staff costs and consultancy services.
But Dr Ayine said Chairman Wontumi failed to procure any of the equipment listed in the loan agreement. When investigators visited the purported farm site, they found only obsolete, non-functioning tractors dating back to 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.
The Attorney-General added that the farming project never commenced and no young people were employed at Asare Nkwanta, contrary to the representations made to the bank. “So this was a scheme designed to defraud Exim Bank,” he said.
He further disclosed that the owner of Kasama Enterprise confirmed issuing only a pro forma invoice to Chairman Wontumi and not a receipt, adding that the businessman never returned to complete the transaction despite follow-up calls.
The forged document submitted to Exim Bank suggested that GH¢4 million had been paid for agricultural equipment, although images attached showed bulldozers and excavators rather than farm machinery.
Dr Ayine said Chairman Wontumi later claimed he had purchased second-hand equipment, but Exim Bank confirmed receiving 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,” he said.
He also alleged 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 established 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.
Dr Ayine said no list of workers was ever submitted because there were no workers on the farm. He stressed that the conduct uncovered went beyond contractual breaches and amounted to criminal behaviour, citing false representations, failure to establish the project and the use of forged documents.
Charges, he said, will be filed against Wontumi Farms Limited and its directors after the Christmas break, adding that the GH¢24,255,735 figure represents the principal and accrued interest and could increase further.
