The legal troubles surrounding Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, appear far from over after the Attorney-General’s Office confirmed that negotiations for a plea agreement in the controversial Ghana EXIM Bank case have not produced a deal.
The latest development adds another layer of uncertainty to the legal situation facing the New Patriotic Party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate illegal-mining case involving Akonta Mining Limited.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Justice Srem-Sai disclosed that the statutory 30-day period allocated for the plea-bargaining process was approaching its expiration without an agreement between prosecutors and the accused persons.
According to him, discussions had taken place, but the parties had yet to settle on terms that could be presented to the court for approval.
“The statutory 30-day period for concluding the plea bargain in The Republic v Bernard Antwi-Boasiako & 2 Others will end next week. I can confirm that we have not reached a plea agreement yet,” he announced in a public statement.
The case is expected to return to the Accra High Court on July 27, 2026, when the prosecution and defence teams will update the presiding judge on whether the negotiations have made any progress or whether the trial should continue in full.
Chairman Wontumi, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited are facing four criminal charges, including defrauding by false pretences, uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public institution.
Prosecutors allege that Wontumi Farms Limited obtained approximately GH¢14.3 million from the Ghana Export-Import Bank after submitting documents connected to a proposed large-scale agricultural project.
The state claims the company presented documents suggesting that it had secured about 100,000 acres of land for the project. However, investigators allegedly found that no farming activities were undertaken, no machinery was purchased and no workers were employed after the funds were released.
The prosecution also alleges that a document presented as evidence of an equipment purchase had been forged and used to support an application for an additional GH¢4 million facility. The total alleged financial loss to EXIM Bank, including associated liabilities, is said to exceed GH¢30 million.
Chairman Wontumi has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, formally requested the commencement of plea negotiations in a letter dated June 5, 2026. The Deputy Attorney-General subsequently filed a notice with the High Court on June 11, officially beginning the court-supervised process.
Under Ghana’s plea-bargaining framework, negotiations may result in reduced charges, the recovery of state funds or other agreed conditions. However, any settlement must satisfy the Attorney-General and receive the approval of the court before it becomes legally effective.
The failure to reach an agreement so far does not automatically mean the request has been permanently rejected. It does, however, leave Wontumi facing the possibility of a full criminal trial if negotiations collapse after the statutory period.
The development comes at a particularly difficult time for the outspoken politician. On July 20, 2026, an Accra High Court sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after finding him guilty of offences connected to the assignment of mineral rights without approval and facilitating an unlicensed mining operation. The sentences imposed on the two counts are to run concurrently.
That conviction involves a separate case and does not determine the outcome of the ongoing EXIM Bank proceedings.
With no plea agreement secured and the July 27 court date approaching, attention will now turn to whether the Attorney-General and Wontumi’s lawyers can make a last-minute breakthrough.
Should the negotiations fail, the EXIM Bank trial could proceed fully, potentially opening another prolonged legal battle for a man already confronting one of the most challenging periods of his political and business career.
