The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has formally requested a plea negotiation with the Attorney-General in his ongoing criminal trial over an alleged GH¢14.3 million loan fraud involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank).

The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, filed a Notification of Commencement of Plea Negotiation at the Accra High Court on Thursday, June 11, 2026, under Docket No. CR/0529/2026.

According to the court document, Wontumi's counsel, Mr. Andy Appiah-Kubi, Esq., wrote to the Attorney-General on June 5, 2026, requesting the initiation of plea negotiations in respect of the charges in the trial.

The notification was filed under Section 162C(3) of Act 30, which governs plea negotiation procedures in Ghana's criminal justice system.

The case involves Chairman Wontumi as the first accused, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, who remains at large as the second accused, and Wontumi Farms Limited as the third accused.

Wontumi and his co-accused face four criminal charges: defrauding by false pretence, authoring a forged document, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public institution.

According to the charge sheet dated May 15, 2026, the accused persons allegedly secured about GH¢14.3 million from Exim Bank in 2018 under the guise of establishing a large-scale farming project.

Prosecutors claim Wontumi Farms Limited applied for a GH¢19 million loan facility, presenting documents that purported to show the company had secured a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the agricultural venture.

The prosecution alleged that one of the documents presented as a board resolution letter was dated January 23, 2018, but referred to a resolution supposedly passed on December 9, 2017 — four days before the company was officially incorporated on December 14, 2017.

The prosecution further claims that although about GH¢14.3 million was disbursed for the project, no farming activities were carried out, no machinery was purchased, and no workers were employed.

It is also alleged that a document presented as proof of purchase for farming equipment was falsified.

Count Four further alleges that Wontumi, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, and Wontumi Farms Limited intentionally caused financial loss to the Ghana Export-Import Bank exceeding GH¢30 million in the course of the transaction, with substantial portions of the money allegedly diverted into personal use and unrelated business investments.

Chairman Wontumi pleaded not guilty to all four charges when he appeared before the court on May 18, 2026.

The matter had been adjourned to June 18, 2026, for a Case Management Conference.

This is not Wontumi's only active criminal matter. He, Akonta Mining Limited, and company director Kwame Antwi are also before the Accra High Court in a separate trial over alleged illegal mining activities at Samreboi, with judgment scheduled for July 3, 2026.

The Attorney-General's office has not issued any public statement beyond the court notification. Further developments in the Exim Bank case are expected when proceedings resume on June 18, 2026.