The Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Haruna Mohammed, has defended Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over criminal charges linked to an Exim Bank loan facility.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Sunday, May 17, Mr Mohammed argued that any alleged irregularities in the approval of the loan should be blamed on the bank rather than the beneficiary.

He also accused Attorney-General Dominic Ayine of attempting to criminalise political opponents before the courts have fully determined the matter.

According to him, Chairman Wontumi followed the appropriate procedures in obtaining the facility and is being unfairly targeted for political reasons.

“The Ashanti Regional Chairman did not pick a cutlass to go to the bank to pick the loan. If for anything at all, he went through the due process,” he said.

“And if they think that something is wrong with regards to how he was given the loan, then it must be the bank, not him. In this particular circumstance, you can see that it’s a clear target,” he added.

Chairman Wontumi, together with Thomas Antwi Boasiako, who is currently said to be at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited, has been charged in connection with an alleged multi-million cedi fraud and money laundering scheme linked to a loan facility from Exim Bank.

According to court documents filed at the High Court in Accra, the accused persons face four counts, including defrauding by false pretence, uttering forged documents, money laundering and causing financial loss to a public institution.

Prosecutors allege that Wontumi Farms Limited secured approximately GH¢14.3 million from Exim Bank in 2018 under the pretext of establishing a large-scale farming project.

The prosecution further claims that the company applied for a GH¢19 million loan facility using documents which allegedly stated that it had acquired a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed agricultural venture.