Chairman Wontumi
The owner of Akonta Mining and Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been released from the custody of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) after satisfying bail conditions.
One of the sureties, Minister for Food and Agriculture Bryan Acheampong, spoke briefly to journalists after the release, stressing the need to respect due process.“I’m not interested in those comments. It serves us no good. What is important is that one of us was in trouble,” Acheampong said.
“He was arrested. We needed, as part of the legal process, to provide the surety for bail. That has been done. He’s been released. We wait for the next steps. That’s what it is.”
When asked about the delay in securing the release, he added simply, “It is a process.”
Background
Chairman Wontumi
Last week, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice confirmed that the owner of Akonta Mining Company Limited , Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is currently under investigation for multiple criminal offences, including fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, May 29, the Deputy Attorney-General revealed that law enforcement agencies have initiated both criminal and asset recovery proceedings against the prominent businessman and politician. The asset recovery processes, according to the statement, are intended to prevent the further dissipation of properties and funds strongly suspected to be proceeds of crime.
“These processes are running concurrently as law enforcement seeks to establish the full extent of the offences committed and secure the assets involved,” the statement read.
Chairman Wontumi, a leading figure in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former Ashanti Regional Chairman, is also the subject of a second strand of investigation that extends beyond Ghana’s borders. Authorities have linked him to what has been described as a larger international organised crime scheme.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Ghana’s primary agency for tackling serious financial crimes, is reportedly collaborating closely with international law enforcement partners in pursuit of this broader probe.
