The Accra High Court has postponed the case involving Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the convicted former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), popularly known as Chairman Wontumi. The case, concerning an alleged GH¢30 million financial loss to the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank), is now scheduled for November 2 and 3, 2026. This adjournment was necessary to allow both the court and the defence counsel to examine the prosecution’s disclosures.
The delay occurred because the prosecution did not provide the necessary documents to the court. Samuel Atta Akyea, the defence lawyer, stated that he received his copy of the disclosures from the court registry on October 27, 2026. The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, who is leading the prosecution, informed the court on October 27 that the State had filed and served the disclosures to the defence in two batches: the first batch was filed on October 23, and the second on October 26.
More time
Mr. Atta Akyea stated that he had collected the documents from the registry and needed time to review them before the case could proceed. “I would like to request the court for some flexibility to go through the documents. Since the liberty of the individual is at stake, I should have the opportunity to read them carefully,” he said.
The court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, subsequently adjourned the case to allow time for the court to receive the necessary disclosures and give counsel a reasonable period to examine them. The prosecution has yet to call a witness in the Exim Bank case.
Background
Mr. Antwi-Boasiako is currently on trial alongside Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited. They are facing allegations of causing a financial loss of over GH¢30 million to Exim Bank. The prosecution claims that the accused obtained GH¢14.302 million from the bank in 2018 through fraudulent means related to a proposed farming project.
Mr. Antwi-Boasiako faces five charges, which include defrauding by false pretences, two counts of uttering forged documents, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body. Additionally, the prosecution contends that the documents submitted to secure funding for the project were either forged or altered and that the intended farming activities were never carried out. Mr. Antwi-Boasiako has pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
