Wontumi’s GH¢30m Exim Bank case adjourned to October 13

The Accra High Court has adjourned the GH¢30 million Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) case involving former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to October 13, 2026.

The adjournment followed an amendment to the prosecution’s charge sheet, which now identifies the company whose pro-forma invoice is alleged to have been forged.

When the case came before the court on Tuesday, September 22, Principal State Attorney Joshua Sackey informed the court that the prosecution had filed a fresh charge sheet and served copies on counsel for the accused persons.

He subsequently asked the court to withdraw the charge sheet filed on May 15, 2026, and replace it with the amended version filed on September 22, 2026.

“We wish to withdraw the charge sheet which we filed on the 15th May, 2026, and substitute same with the charge sheet which we filed on the 22nd of Sept. 2026.”

The amended charge sheet, dated September 19, 2026, maintains the charge of uttering a forged document under Section 169 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

However, the particulars now state that the allegedly forged document was a pro-forma invoice belonging to EPSONS GHANA LIMITED.

The prosecution alleges that in 2017, within the Greater Accra Region, Mr Antwi-Boasiako used the document knowing it to be false, with the intention of defrauding officials of Exim Bank and obtaining GH¢4 million from the bank.

Following the amendment, the accused persons are expected to enter their pleas afresh when the case returns to court on October 13.

Defence seeks more time
Nana Nti Ofori-Debrah, who held brief for Samuel Atta Akyea for the first and third accused persons, told the court that he had only just received the amended charge sheet.

He said he needed time to study the document and present it to the substantive counsel before the charges could be substituted and pleas taken.

“Indeed I have just received a copy of the new charge sheet. I am yet to peruse it and also show it to the substantive counsel,” he said.

“In the circumstance, I humbly pray that both the substitution and the taking of plea should be taken at the adjourned date not too remote from now.”

The court granted the request and adjourned the matter to October 13, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.

Details of the Exim Bank case
Mr Antwi-Boasiako is standing trial alongside Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited over an alleged GH¢30 million loss involving Exim Bank.

The five-count charge comprises defrauding by false pretence, two counts of uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.

According to the charge sheet, Mr Antwi-Boasiako and Mr Thomas Antwi-Boasiako allegedly obtained about GH¢14.302 million from Exim Bank in 2018 through false pretences.

The prosecution further alleges that the accused persons caused the bank to suffer a loss of GH¢30 million between 2018 and 2022.