The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Edem Srem-Sai, has disclosed that the State has informed lawyers for former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Wontumi, of its intention to continue prosecuting the alleged GH₵30 million Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank fraud case against him.
The disclosure followed a decision by the trial High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, to grant the parties additional time to conclude their plea bargain negotiations and report back to the court.
Dr Srem-Sai, however, did not indicate whether the plea bargain negotiations had been successful.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at the Nsawam Prison after he was found guilty of purposely facilitating illegal mining at his Samreboi concession.
In the EXIM Bank case, Mr Antwi-Boasiako entered into plea bargain negotiations with the Attorney-General on June 5, after the State charged him with allegedly obtaining an EXIM Bank facility through fraudulent means for a farming project.
Under Ghana’s plea bargaining regime, an accused person may avoid a full trial by reaching an agreement with the prosecution, subject to the approval of the court. If approved, the court may impose a fine, a non-custodial sentence or any other lawful sentence.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako, the first accused; Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, the second accused, who is at large; and Wontumi Farms Limited have been charged with defrauding by false pretence, money laundering and uttering forged documents.
According to the prosecution, Mr Antwi-Boasiako applied to EXIM Bank in January 2018 for funding to undertake a large-scale farming project, claiming to have secured about 100,000 acres of land.
Dr Srem-Sai said the bank subsequently approved a loan and grant facility of GH₵18.73 million, of which GH₵14.3 million was disbursed to Wontumi Farms Limited.
The prosecution alleged that investigations established that the proposed farming project was never undertaken and that no agricultural machinery was purchased as claimed.
It further alleged that Mr Antwi-Boasiako presented an altered document to the bank as proof of the purchase of agricultural equipment worth GH₵4 million in order to secure further disbursement of funds.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that the document was originally a pro forma invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise and was not a receipt as presented to the bank.
The State further alleged that substantial amounts of the facility were withdrawn and used for personal purposes and other business ventures, while efforts by EXIM Bank to recover the funds proved unsuccessful.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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